


Hololife

by Khawapashi



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Porn, Breeding, Cannonverse Tentacles, Creepy Hutt Snoke, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff and Smut, It's A Porn Zoo, Jedi Octopus, Knotting, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Porn with Feelings, Prince Ben Solo, Protective Kylo Ren, Protective Rey (Star Wars), Snoke Being a Dick, Soft Kylo Ren, Space Prince and The Scavenger, Strangulation by chain, Tender Sex, Tenta!Kylo, Tentacle Sex, Tentacles, That's Not How The Force Works, Virgin Rey, When your boyfriend has tentacles but also he's a prince, With Reylo babies, like really soft, with tentacles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-08-09 10:46:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 51,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16448426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khawapashi/pseuds/Khawapashi
Summary: “Who’s there?” She whispered hoarsely. Fuck, whatever drugs they’d given her still hadn’t worn off completely, her movements were slow and her speech half-slurred.Something smooth and heavy, like the belly of a large snake, rolled over her feet and she swallowed, fighting the urge to jump away. If it was a snake, the sudden movement would just provoke it.





	1. Who's There?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not justifying this. I didn't start TentaKylo, but I saw it and I like a challenge. So.... Director Snoke's traveling porn menagerie has been taking up room in my head and I've chosen to share it.... because I'm trash and I had to let it out. Seriously, this plot has so many holes a tentacle monster wouldn't even satisfy it, but that's not what we're here for.
> 
> If you like tentacle sexiness and weird space porn with a large helping of fluff and feelings, hop on. Like a lot of feelings. TentaKylo is a soft boi and the scavenger from the desert is determined to rescue him, because when you're nobody from nowhere, you really can't be choosy about your magic space prince.
> 
> Note the breeding thing and babies is only in the last few chapters and it pretty minimal so if you're kinda lukewarm on kids or get put off by pregnancy, it's easily skippable. It's not my favorite thing either, it just works for this particular fic.
> 
> If you read my other works and came here expecting something quality, please feel free to NOPE THE FUCK OUT. Or stay if you want to give kink a chance ;) But please don't judge me, my mind is a weird place.

It was the kiss of cool, damp air that woke Rey from her fitful sleep. She opened her eyes on near-darkness, and a quick inventory of her body found her naked and restrained by a slim, sturdy metal collar around her neck. She followed the lightweight, stronger than steel chain back to its bolt in the wall, giving it a few helpless tugs.

A sound reached her from the darkness, something shuffling and moving in the opposite corner, and Rey stiffened. Wherever she was, she wasn’t alone.

“Who’s there?” She whispered hoarsely. Fuck, whatever drugs they’d given her still hadn’t worn off completely, her movements were slow and her speech half-slurred.

Something smooth and heavy, like the belly of a large snake, rolled over her feet and she swallowed, fighting the urge to jump away. If it was a snake, the sudden movement would just provoke it.

Another something, with the same soft, smooth feel, brushed her calf, winding around her leg like a heavy ribbon, slowly edging up to the back of her knee. She gasped, startled at the slow glide of sensation in such a sensitive place, and called out again.

“Please… If someone’s there…” Another soft, warm roll of flesh slipped under her chin, tipping her head back and forcing her to look up. It was so dark, she could barely make out the ghost of a face just above hers, darkly-glowing red eyes and an angular nose, framed by wavy, thick dark hair.

“Shhh… Not so loud. They’re watching.” The masculine voice was deep, a low rumble barely above a whisper, and she had to lean in to make out the words. When she did, her eyes shut tightly, an involuntary whimper escaping her throat.

“Where am I?” She asked in the softest voice she could manage. A tear slid down from her closed eye, and she felt a warm hand cup her face, thumb brushing over her cheek. She had the sensation of things moving behind her, and another sleek, heavy tendril wound gently around her waist.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, and Rey opened her eyes at that unexpected admission. He nodded, his hand still cupping her face. “I am a prisoner here, just as you are. Kidnapped from my home by humans such as yourself.”

“Oh,” she managed, her breath catching as more of the smooth weight rolled over her middle, brushing up beneath her bare breasts. “Is that…” Swallowing her fear, she let a hand fall to wrap her fingers around one of the ropey, slithering tendrils. “Is this you?”

“Yes.” Dark red eyes came closer her face, peering down at her intently. “You are in distress. I wished to comfort you.”

“C-comfort me? With your…” She squeezed the one in her hand again, unintentionally sliding her fingers across the impossibly smooth flesh. How on earth was being wrapped around the waist like a constrictor snake trying to strangle its dinner supposed to  _ comfort _ her? “Your tentacles? Is that…”

Rey forced herself to take a deep breath.  _ Of course. Tentacles. Lovely _ . This was her nightmare, but it was clearly someone else’s fantasy. And he’s said they were  _ watching _ .

“I would not call them that, but your language is limited.” He glanced down at her hand as she gently, subconsciously, stroked his appendage like she pet might a loth-cat sitting in her lap. “Please don’t scream,” he added. “It will only cause us both more suffering.”

“Right.” She found his eyes again, trying to formulate a plan in her head. Or at least collect more information to help her formulate a plan. “Do you have a name?”

He chuckled. “As a matter of fact, I do. It’s Kylo.”

“Ah. I’m Rey,” she offered in return. It seemed absurd to be exchanging pleasantries with this… whatever he was… but so far, despite what she assumed their captors intended upon delivering a naked female to their captive beast, he had been gentle and non-aggressive.

“Rey,” he repeated. “Would you believe, Rey, that none of the rest of your kind has ever bothered to ask my name?”

“They didn’t ask mine either,” she said with a shrug. “I just got off my speeder at the outpost and felt a sting in my neck. Woke up here.”

“Hmm. And do you know what your brethren expect to happen between us, little human?” His face was close, she almost wanted to touch him, to brush a hand through the dark curls she could see framing his angular features.

“Oh, yes.” Rey shivered. She had seen her share of weird holos in the officers' quarters of the ships she'd scavenged. 

“I see.” Kylo’s hand found her face again, this time holding her almost tenderly while his other hand rubbed soothingly over her bare shoulder. “I won’t hurt you, Rey,” he promised, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “However… I must warn you, the last girl I rejected was killed. I’d rather not see that again, either.”

“How long have you  _ been _ here?” She whispered incredulously.

Forgetting for a moment her own predicament, Rey was filled with rage at the captors who had kidnapped him and forced him to act for their perverse pleasure. Regardless of his form, he was a sentient creature, and it infuriated her how so many humans seemed to think anything outside of their standard range of deviation was somehow inferior.

Kylo blinked at her, his red eyes raking over her face as he took in her expression. Suddenly she found herself absolutely  _ surrounded _ by sinuous, sleek appendages, wrapping around her entire body as he pressed her against a very humanoid and muscular chest.

“Oh, sweet one. You truly are a special kind of human,” he crooned in her ear as his limbs rocked her firmly against him. “I won’t let them take you, I promise. I will hold you and mate you and take care of you, and then together we shall free ourselves and go  _ home _ .”

It should have been terrifying, but the way he spoke, as if she were a gift bestowed upon him by fate, was hypnotic. Rey had never felt safe, or even  _ wanted _ , in her entire existence. She almost missed his words, freeing an arm from the confining tentacles to wrap around his neck as he tucked her head under his chin. He slumped back against the wall, making a soft noise that vibrated through his chest like a purr, as his human hand stroked her hair.

“Kylo.”

“Hmm?”

“What do you mean you’re going to  _ mate _ with me?”


	2. For The Holos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somewhat shyly, she fit her lips against his, pressing forward as much as she could, hoping her lips were as soft and warm as his. Kylo stilled, not moving to separate them, but not responding, and she made a hoarse noise, a soft plea, gripping his hair and willing him to respond. 
> 
> When he finally did, it was like he had been starved for affection all his life, his whole body leaning into it, plush mouth half-open and devouring. She opened eagerly under his tongue and he groaned, at first delicately tasting her, until her hands cupped his face and stroked his neck, urging him on.

“What do you mean you’re going to _mate_ with me?”

She had to know. At this point it was inevitable that some sort of… acts… would have to happen between them to keep their captors happy, but she wanted to know beforehand so she could at least try to… acclimate herself to the idea.

“I… Do you not have mates among your kind? Bonding? Marriage?” He sounded utterly perplexed, and Rey shook her head slightly, her cheek pressed against the hard plane of his wide chest.

“No, we do, I just… Most of the time mating is just a… A one-time thing. Just the act.” She realized her knowledge of human sexual interactions was embarrassingly lacking. “People do get married, but only after a long-term uh… trial period, I guess?”

“Ah, I think I understand your question.” Gently, he loosened his grip, long tendrils sliding away from her as he resettled her against his side, so she was looking down in his lap, where his human torso merged with the mass of sleek limbs. He lifted one and held it close to her face for inspection, and Rey smoothed her hand over it carefully. “These, I have many of. Twelve, to be precise. They are similar to your arms and legs, but somewhat more… sensitive. If I were to enter a ‘trial’ as you call it with one of my kind, we would play with these.”

He wriggled the one in her hand, showing off how flexible and yet firm it could be, before withdrawing it from her grip. Taking her hand in his, he guided her downward, where she could feel two larger, thicker appendages beneath the planes of his abdomen, like very bendy legs. They parted slowly under her curious touch, revealing yet another tendril beneath, this one much shorter and thicker than the rest. Her hand slid over the undulating tip, soft as silk with a unique, ridged texture, and he gave low groan at her touch.

“This is the one meant for mating. When we couple, it locks inside of you for a long time, filling you with my spend, which will enter your bloodstream and change your body’s chemistry… Your scent will change, you will become more resilient, and your womb will expel any seed that isn’t mine. It will also increase your natural lifespan in relation to my own. We live much longer than most humanoids, I’m told.” Rey’s hand froze, having gotten enough of a grasp to realize how massive he was, imagining…. that… stuck inside of her for…

“How long?” She whispered, fear and some other, more nebulous feeling warming her blood. She inhaled against his neck as she tried to wrap her fingers around it and found they did not meet. Not even close. Absently, she took another breath, deciding she liked the spiced, masculine scent of his skin.

“I’m not sure.” He seemed hesitant, and she realized her question could be taken multiple ways. His hand grasped hers, pulling away her curious fingers. “I’ve never taken a mate before.”

“Oh.” Rey closed her eyes. If he decided he wanted to, there wasn’t much she could do about it, but she hoped he was being sincere in his desire not to hurt her. “I haven’t either.”

Kylo’s glowing eyes met hers as she looked up, grateful for darkness concealing her flushed cheeks. Rey bit her lip, deciding again that she needed more information.

“I don’t think we can… procreate…”

“Perhaps not,” he agreed. “Though my kind have taken humanoid mates before. With my seed and my bite, it’s possible your body will change just enough.”

“Ahh.” Where the fuck was he _from_? She had assumed it was a water planet, but if there humanoid people there was well, maybe… “Where would I live, if I went home with you?”

“I will build you a house on one of the islands. The _shearl_ people native to my planet give special deference to those of the landfolk mated to my kind. You will be well cared for,” he promised confidently. “I am a prince among my people. They will defer to you as well. You will be my princess.”

“I don’t even know how to swim,” she mumbled. Honestly, that was the least of her worries, but for some reason it stuck out in her mind. One absurd detail to add to the rest. She glanced down, able to just make out where his waist ended. “You said you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“I have no wish to,” he nodded, sinuous limbs snaking around her possessively again, drawing her tight against his chest. “But they will want to see…”

“Right. I gathered that.”

As if on cue, dull blue-green lights flickered on in the cell, illuminating the ceiling and walls, showing the faint glimmer of water just to the left of where they huddled against the cool stone. It was a bigger cage than she’d expected, and she noticed that Kylo was not chained like her, filing the information away in case it became useful later.

“Wakey, wakey monster!” Came a sinister voice over some kind of speaker. “The recorder’s on!”

Rey clutched at his arms as panic seized her, her whole body trembling in his grasp, no matter how gently he held her and whispered in her ear.

“K-Kylo, I - I’m - Please don’t hurt me!” She begged. Under the light she could see the handsome features of his face, the furrowed brows looking down as his tentacles loosened and slid around her. “Please,” she begged, staring into his alien eyes.

“Shhh… This won’t hurt, I promise.” Then his voice rose, a dark chuckle escaping his throat. “Relax, sweetheart. You’ll like this.”

“No, please, no -” He moved her out from his body, constantly sliding over and around her, turning her so she was horizontal before laying her down on the cool stone. All but two of his limbs slipped away, the remaining ones cautiously wrapping around her thighs, tugging her apart despite her protests.

“Oh, yes. Fight me if you wish,” he taunted for the recorder. “Soon you will be begging me to touch you.”

One of the questing limbs teased through her slit, and Rey moaned at the shocking sensation, her head thrown back. She thought it was fear that burned low in her belly, but Kylo grinned at her from where he lurked, situated between her legs with his single appendage dragging up and down, slowly working its way inside her folds.

“So wet,” he growled. His questing tentacle wriggled over her, dipping into her slick heat and bringing her taste to his mouth. Rey moaned again at the sight, all fear of him hurting her suddenly taking a backseat to the aching burn between her legs.

“Oh, sweetheart. You taste exquisite.” His limbs pulled her thighs up, pressing her bent knees towards her chest and exposing her completely for his perusal. “Look at that beautiful, dripping cunt of yours.”

He parted her as wide as she could go, more tentacles winding around her waist and pulling her down closer to him. Slowly, carefully, he tested her untouched entrance, and she yelped in shock and pleasure as the very tip of a tendril eased inside.

“ _Fuck!_ ” She was not prepared for that, although she knew it would happen from the moment she became aware of him, the last thing she’d expected was for it to feel so good. Her hips moved, seeking more, and Kylo obliged, the tentacle sinking deeper, wriggling and testing her depth. “Oh, Gods…”

“You like that?” He smirked, and Rey felt more of his sinuous limbs winding around her breasts, squeezing and releasing alternately, drawing out more groans from her hoarse throat. “You dirty girl. You want more of me?”

_More? Was he going to -_

She screamed when the second tendril began teasing her, sliding in against the first, filling her, stuffing her so completely. Her body clenched around him, hips bucking in their own wild rhythm, seeking more and yet so, wonderfully full.

“Yes?” Kylo pressed for her response, but she only managed to moan incoherently. “Tell me what you want, sweetheart. I just want to make you feel good.”

“It’s good,” she panted finally. “So, so good…”

The smooth, silky ends of his tentacles toyed with her nipples, evoking more squirming and writhing and moaning, so much sensation she had never expected to feel. Rey moved her hips again, whining plaintively with need, and Kylo’s deep voice teased her.

“Tell me, little girl. Tell me so I can make you come.”

“Just… Move!” Rey gasped, muscles relaxing to take more of him, reveling in the feeling of his tendrils stretching her, thick and heavy and flexible, moving so deep. She shifted, bucking her hips again, overwhelmed and desperate for the right movement. “Fuck me! In and out like...”

He slid one out, only to shove it back in, the other sliding against it, creating the most delicious rhythm, and Rey knew then she was ruined for human men. If she had to live in a shack on the sea with a bunch of tribal humanoids, bartering for shells, she would gladly let him take her home. Her eyes rolled back and she cried out wordlessly, gulping in deep, sobbing breaths only to moan again, even louder, her voice echoing along the water and rocks.

“Gods… Gods…” She reached down to grip the tendrils around her breasts, and suddenly her wrists were wrapped in him too, holding them firmly down beside her head, while he fucked her so incredibly with his sliding rhythm - _thrust, drag, thrust, drag_ … Pleasure surged in her as she writhed against his grasp, feeling every heavy piece of him on and inside her body, filling her and fucking her and consuming her body and soul.

“Good girl, that’s it,” he crooned. “Be still and let me fuck you, I’ll make you feel so good… Scream loud for me when you come, just like that!”

His voice, on top of everything else, finally broke her. She jerked under his hold with violent spasms, screaming and sobbing as the sensations overwhelmed, white-hot suns bursting behind her eyes, sending her soaring almost out of her body.

Rey had her eyes squeezed shut when she came, nearly delirious for several moments before she came down, so she didn’t notice when the lights turned off and the sinister voice directed Kylo to collect his reward for the performance. She only came back to herself when she felt him lifting her, pulling her gently into the water, his smooth limbs washing her body clean with a soft rag.

Her eyes found his somehow anyway, twin pinpricks of red hovering above her head, and she reached for him, sighing contently when he lifted her into his arms again.

“Are you alright? I know you were performing for the holos, but -”

“No, I wasn’t.” She shook her head, wet hair brushing his skin. “I was afraid to cry your name, because you said they’d never asked. But it felt good…” Her cheeks burned under his sudden, closer inspection. “Really, it was good. I’ve never felt so good in my whole life.”

“Oh,” he was looking down at her with something akin to awe. “I… I’m glad. There’s food if you want…?”

She nodded, but her arms shot up to wind around his neck, fingers gripping his soft waves and pulling him towards her. “Wait, Kylo. Can I… I want to try something.”

“Alright.”

“I’ve never done this before,” she whispered, tilting her face against his. “I hope it’s okay.”

Somewhat shyly, she fit her lips against his, pressing forward as much as she could, hoping her lips were as soft and warm as his. Kylo stilled, not moving to separate them, but not responding, and she made a hoarse noise, a soft plea, gripping his hair and willing him to respond. When he finally did, it was like he had been starved for affection all his life, his whole body leaning into it, plush mouth half-open and devouring. She opened eagerly under his tongue and he groaned, at first delicately tasting her, until her hands cupped his face and stroked his neck, urging him on.

They broke apart so she could breathe, gasping and clinging to him still, her hand resting against his cheek.

“Was that…?”

“I’ve never felt anything so good in my entire life,” he repeated, pressing his forehead to hers. “Please, Rey. Be my mate, let me care for you -”

“I will, but we have to get out of here first.”

“And you’ll go home with me? When we’re free? Or… I never asked where you came from.” He gave her an apologetic glance, but Rey smiled.

“There’s nothing for me there anymore.”


	3. Playthings...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Kylo?”
> 
> “Shh. Someone’s coming in.”
> 
> The hatch above where they had left her slid open, and one of The Director’s flunkies, a pasty-faced, red-haired man with a constant sneer clambered down the ladder he’d lowered. Kylo watch him wordlessly as he fumbled around with a flashlight in the dark, doing something with the chain.
> 
> “Since you two are playing nice, Snoke has ordered me to release the girl,” the smirk he gave made Kylo bare his teeth. “Relax, monster. I’m not taking away your toy..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just gonna sneak this update in... Since I got such a positive response ;)

 

The girl -  _ mine! my girl!  _ \- had fallen asleep nestled against his chest, held up in his arms, out of the cool water where his lower half rested. Enchanted by her soft, sweet breath and the peaceful, resting features of her face, Kylo watched her sleep for what seemed like hours. He wasn’t the best judge of human age, his own people retained the same adult appearance until they were expecting their deaths, but she seemed surprisingly young without the furrowed brow and narrowed eyes she wore constantly.

He wondered if they had taken an actual youth, and what that would mean for him, before dismissing it entirely. She was small, but her hips were round and her breasts developed, and judging by her response to their intimate performance, she had clearly reached sexual maturity. From the small bits he’d gathered, and her clean, exquisite taste, he presumed she was mostly untouched by the males of her kind, and he wondered if there was something about her they rejected, or if she was the one rejecting any potential suitors.

Probably the latter, given the flashes of anger and bitterness in her eyes when she talked about her own species. He hummed contently to himself. Rey would be a fierce, cunning mate, someone he could be proud to share his life with. It was unfortunate that she wasn’t  _ drakkan _ , but taking a humanoid female to mate was nothing to be ashamed of in a species with over seventy-five percent males. His mother and uncle had been born of such a union. 

That thought gave him pause, for his grandmother had not survived their birth, but that was mainly the fault of his grandfather for mating in secret, without the proper rituals, and then leaving her to suffer through the birth unaided. Rey would never suffer that way, he would ensure all the necessary steps were taken for him to fully claim her, and should their union be successful, she would have all the care the landfolk and the people of his kingdom could provide. His mother would see to that, he was certain - both of his parents would love her as much as he did, he was sure. 

Kylo stroked her soft cheek with the barest tip of a tentacle, and adjusted his grip around her body more securely. He was getting too far ahead of himself with his thoughts of home. They had to escape their captors first.

Rattling on the far side of his enclosure startled him, and he instinctively moved Rey behind him, wincing at her waking gasp.

“Kylo?” 

“Shh. Someone’s coming in.”

The hatch above where they had left her slid open, and one of The Director’s flunkies, a pasty-faced, red-haired man with a constant sneer clambered down the ladder he’d lowered. Kylo watch him wordlessly as he fumbled around with a flashlight in the dark, doing something with the chain.

“Since you two are playing nice, Snoke has ordered me to release the girl,” the smirk he gave made Kylo bare his teeth. “Relax, monster. I’m not taking away your toy, just giving you more freedom to pose her. The Director wants to see you play in the water.”

Finished with unlatching the bolt on the wall, he regarded Kylo and Rey, who was clinging to his shoulder from behind, no doubt leveling that fierce glower at their enemy.

“If you bring her over, I will remove the collar as well.” He shined the flashlight in their direction, and Kylo growled. “Have it your way, then. I’m certainly not coming over there.”

He shook his head in disgust, going back to the ladder and disappearing into the hatch with it. Kylo waited, making sure he was really gone for good.

A dragging sound reached his ears, and he realized Rey was tugging on her chain, pulling the freed length into the water with them, until it disappeared beneath the shallow surface with a few gentle waves. She gave a satisfied little giggle, and he turned his head to see her wide, excited grin.

“Happy to be free?” He murmured in a low voice. Rey’s eyes found his, holding his gaze as her hand came up, wrapped around with a length of chain, and she waved her fist in a little demonstration.

“Next time he comes in,” she replied darkly, “We’ll be ready.”

Kylo moved, turning and adjusting her in his limbs until he was facing her, and cupped her cheek in one wide hand. “And what do you think will happen if you kill Hux? We’ll still be stuck in here -”

“I won’t.” She flashed him one of her bright smiles. “I’ll put on his uniform and take his things and then get you out.” 

She frowned, looking around, unable to really see, but Kylo knew what she was looking for. Over the -  _ years, was it really years? _ \- he had mapped every inch of his confines. He couldn’t risk telling her, but he could show her. If only…

“Do you trust me?” At her hesitant nod, he pulled her tight against his chest. “Put your arms around my neck and hold your breath.”

Humans needed air about every thirty seconds, he had learned from previous encounters, but they could go as long as sixty, sometimes more if they had practice. It took approximately forty seconds for him to swim down beneath the transparisteel window where they passed through his food and show her the thick steel bars beneath, guiding one of her hands through the bars to the touch pad on the far side, before she scratched at him in panic and he launched them back up to surface. 

Rey gasped in several deep breaths before she relaxed, still holding tightly to his neck, as if she were afraid he’d drop her in the deeper water. Unfounded, of course, but fear was not usually rational, and she had admitted before she couldn’t even swim.

“Are you okay?” He studied her face worriedly.

“No, no - I’m fine, it’s just… Desert planet. I’m from a desert planet. The most water I’ve ever seen was in the luggabeast trough.” She blinked, rubbing droplets of water from her eyes. “I felt it though…” Her voice lowered even further, the barest murmur in his ear. “We’re going to need his hand.”

“My mate is a warrior. I should have guessed.” Kylo smiled grimly at her implications, then leaned down, slipping a limb beneath her chin and around the side of her neck. “So fierce and beautiful and strong....” 

He descended on her with his mouth, kissing her lips and cheeks and jaw, licking and sucking at her neck - he wanted to taste her, everywhere, to devour her and drown himself in her sweet skin, and then come back for more.

For her part, Rey was just as passionate, seizing his hair in one hand, the other caressing his arm and shoulder, moaning and leaning into him as he swallowed her sounds and thrust his tongue into her mouth to tangle with hers. 

“Kylo,” she pulled away to look up at him in earnest. “What can I do for you? What… I want to pleasure you, like you did for me, but I don’t know…”

Oh. Oh, stars, she was perfect -  _ Mate! Claim! Now!  _ \- he had to tell the insistent voice in his head to shut up, they would do that eventually, but not until they were free and he could ensure she wasn’t choosing him under duress. It was very, very tempting, though, and he fervently hoped they made their escape soon, before he went mad with want.

“Well… If you were  _ drakkan _ , and we were… playing, you would take me inside your mouth, between your legs… everywhere on your body,” he lifted several wriggling limbs for emphasis, seeing the way her eyes lingered on them. “And you would wrap yourself around my… member…” He dragged her hand down towards where it wriggled thickly underneath the protective mass of other tentacles.

“Like this?” She wrapped both hands around him, gently sliding them up and down over the thick ridges, and Kylo groaned in pleasure.

“Yesssss… your hands are so small and soft… just like that…” She was concentrating on him so fully, she started when one of limbs teased at her entrance. “Please, Rey. Let me fill you…”

“Oh, yes!” She glanced up, giving him an enthusiastic nod, and he pushed in further, reveling in her hot, tight flesh. He raised another beside her face, and she took it in her mouth without hesitation, letting him fill her from both sides, so soft and warm and pliant. The feeling of her, surrounding him, moaning and humming in pleasure, while her clever little hands grasped and stroked his member, was absolutely divine.

He needed more, sliding another tentacle slowly into her slick entrance, and Rey whined as his limbs wrapped firmly around her waist, pulling her lower body into the water for him to plunder at ease.

“Rey,” he caught her eyes as he slipped a fourth limb up her leg, carefully prodding at her delicately puckered backside. “May I?”

Her whole body froze as she became aware of him, his eyes locking with hers in the near-dark, and he could sense her discomfort.

“I won’t hurt you. I just want…”  _ All of you _ .  _ Mine. My mate _ . He rearranged his appendages, tightening his grip on her waist and drawing her legs apart around the center of his body so he could massage his finger gently over her tight passage. “Please.”

Closing her eyes, she gave a quick nod, returning her attention to the movement of her hands around him. Patiently, he teased her center, sliding two tentacles in an alternating rhythm as he had before, using a third to join his hand further down. Her breath hitched when he finally penetrated her with a slender tip, and he waited, still moving his other limbs inside of her.

Rey pulled him from her mouth, panting for breath, and one of her little hands guided one of his to the very top of her folds, holding him there as she rocked into the pressure and moaned.

“Kylo… Touch me here, please… I need more...” 

_ Aha…  _ He remembered then, the extra-sensitive little bit that human women had. She needed pressure there to relax. He let her pose his fingers and show him what she wanted, and soon Rey moaned encouragingly, letting him take over. Her head fell back and her eyes closed, but she returned both hands to his stiffened member. 

“Like that, just… don’t stop.”

“Well, well, well.” Rey’s eyes snapped open as the lights came on, and Kylo rushed to calm her. “You  _ are _ enjoying your new plaything.”

“I will  _ murder _ you, you slimy creep -” Rey yelled before he could silence her with a tentacle. Her eyes caught his, wild and furious and absolutely beautiful, momentarily stealing his breath.

“Shh, it’s okay, I’ve got you.” She closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath, while he continued making gentle circles with his fingers, as if they hadn’t been just crudely reminded of their imprisonment. His other limbs wrapped around her wrists and legs, holding her firmly in place and working inside of her. Knowing it was no good to try and stop, he whispered to her desperately. “Don’t think about it, just look at me.”

“Look at me, Rey.” He spoke louder, more commandingly, lifting another limb to circle loosely around her neck, until she shivered and opened her eyes. “Does it feel good?”

“Yes… yes,  _ kriff _ …” She tensed an arm against his hold, and when he released it, she reached up to trace her fingers over his face. “Damn it all,  _ yes _ .”

“Good. Focus on that.” He raised the appendage under her chin to caress her cheek, and his heart skipped a beat when she turned her head and opened her mouth for him, sucking on him greedily when he obligingly filled her. “Oh, Rey… You’re so good… Let me make you come, please?”

She nodded eagerly, her eyes closing again as he moved under the water, bending her knees back and sliding deeper within her welcoming body. He traced her final, unexplored hole delicately, once again testing with just a single slim tip. She was thoroughly relaxed now with all the stimulation, and he slid a little further than before, watching her brows crease and then soften as she acclimated, letting him fill her more. He leaned in to close his mouth around one of her pert, tempting nipples, and Rey froze, her muffled cries rising in a frenzied pitch.

A little more pressure from his hand as he worked her body with nearly half of his limbs, buried inside every possible entry, and she squeezed him  _ everywhere _ when she climaxed, shuddering as he eased her through it.

“Again?” He dipped his head away to ask, and she gave him a wild, surprised stare that drew a chuckle out of him. “I can keep this up a long time, my sweet. As long as you’ll let me.”

She whimpered, her hands reaching to squeeze and stroke him wildly, and he bit off a curse, sending more tendrils to tease her nipples and fucking her in a faster rhythm than he had before. He pushed in a little more wherever he filled her, and brought his mouth down to lick and suck the frail skin where her neck joined with her shoulder, where he would bite her one day and make her  _ his. _ He was careful, but his teeth were sharp, and he could see little rings of bruises already forming under her skin, the sight of his marks covering her body obscenely erotic.

“Rey!” He murmured her name like a prayer, the sacred syllable of his goddess, writhing and moaning and sobbing as he filled and fucked her senseless. He felt her start to climax again, her body tightening and pulsing all around him, giving way to violent spasms that pulled him over the edge with her. 

Hot spurts of his blue-white seed spilled between them, rising up from the water and painting her skin, an image Kylo knew would live forever in his mind. As soon as the lights went down, he pulled her limp, blissfully relaxed body against him, freeing her from all his points of penetration, softly stroking her wet hair as he hummed soothingly in her ear.

“Did…” She struggled to regain control over her motor functions. “Was I good enough for you? Kylo? Did you…?”

“Yes, yes.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lips and cheeks. “You were so good, Rey. My love, you were perfect.”

She laughed, winding her strong, supple arms around his neck, and gave herself a little shake, still recovering. “You hardly know me, how can you love me already?”

“Do you not feel it?” He held her eyes with his, searching her face. There was a connection between them, he had felt it the moment he heard her voice, but if she didn’t sense it, perhaps he was rushing things… “There’s something between us. You’re no stranger to me.”

Rey looked into his eyes with that little furrowing of her brow, eyes narrowed as she contemplated him. Finally, she shrugged and brought a hand up to cover his against her cheek. 

“You’re right. I should be terrified of you, but… Well, obviously I’m not.”

“Don’t be afraid.” He kissed the top of her head. “I feel it, too.”

 


	4. Jedi-Octopus?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were other cells, Kylo told her. He had seen them when they brought him in, had damaged a few by latching onto the durasteel bars and bending them as he was dragged past. The Director’s employees referred to them as enclosures, like they were caged attractions in a pornographic wildlife menagerie.
> 
> “You bent durasteel?”

There were other cells, Kylo told her. He had seen them when they brought him in, had damaged a few by latching onto the durasteel bars and bending them as he was dragged past. The Director’s employees referred to them as enclosures, like they were caged attractions in a pornographic wildlife menagerie.

“You  _ bent _ durasteel?” 

Her fingers idly stroked one of the strong limbs secured around her hips, and Kylo purred under her gentle affection. She had become accustomed to sleeping nestled against his chest, wrapped in warm arms and soft, heavy limbs. He preferred to keep most of his body in the water, or the tentacles would dry out and become chapped and cracked, an affliction that sounded terribly painful. But she was small, and weighed very little to him, so it was no difficulty to hold her securely above the surface while he drifted in and out of a light slumber. 

It was hard to imagine those sleek limbs that brought her such pleasure were capable of such feats of strength.

“I was angry,” he whispered. “And frightened.”

“Didn’t they drug you?” She hadn’t seen a damn  _ thing _ , which made planning their escape even more difficult. At this point, Rey was certain she could dispatch Hux, take his uniform and key cards (and his hand, somehow) and escape their enclosure, but she couldn’t leave Kylo and she had no idea where she would even find a ship. “I don’t remember anything at all.”

“Hmm. I think I was more resilient than they expected. It started to wear off as the transport was landing, but it took me a few moments longer to gather my bearings.” He cocked his head thoughtfully. “It can’t have been a long trip, or it would have worn off in hyperspace. Only a fool would risk it in a transport that small.”

“How on earth did they bring you from the transport to here?”

It had to have been a massive undertaking, she couldn’t imagine less than six people to haul something his size through a decent-sized cruiser. Six was generous, actually, Kylo must weigh at least twice as much as a wookie, and was far more dexterous. She caught his brief smile, the dim glow of his eyes on her face warm and affectionate.

“I was in a transparisteel tank of water that they lifted into a wheeled crate. Made it much easier for them to move with a worker droid, but they left the top open.” He sighed heavily. “I believe most of the organics here are slaves, overseen by Hux. I may have killed one or two in my attempts to escape.”

Rey frowned, sensing his guilt at taking the lives of people who were just trying to survive themselves, and she reached up to cup his jaw in her palm.

“It’s alright. You didn’t know. I might have done the same if I woke up before they dumped me in here.” She could sense he was surprised at her response, but he didn’t argue. “The other… enclosures… Did you see anyone in them?”

“Yes. The nearest is a devaronian, he escaped when I weakened the bars of his prison. He spoke, but I could not understand the language.” Rey could imagine why they had a captive devaronian in their menagerie, and she rolled her eyes. “There are some women with short… tentacles… growing from their heads instead of hair, twi’lek or togruta, I am not sure -”

“They call them  _ lekku _ ,” she offered absently. “Twi’lek are common in the skintrade industry, the whole planet was enslaved by the Empire.  _ Force _ , this place is disgusting! Anyone else who might be… helpful… nearby? I take it they recaptured the devaronian.”

“Unfortunately. I believe so. There’s a wookie in the same enclosure as the ladies with the  _ lekku _ ,” he gave special emphasis to the last word, while Rey felt like her stomach might revolt. “The wookie is called Wekawarrl, I have managed to speak to him a few times when I was allowed to swim under the divider.”

“You speak Shyriiwook?” She gaped in surprise. “How…?”

“He is Force-sensitive, as am I. We cannot overcome their dampeners to affect things physically, but enough to communicate, roughly.” He sighed. “We tried to work together to break the divider -” He raised a tentacle, tapping the transparent plating behind their heads, “-but we only managed to crack it. After that they put in another layer, and added the bars under water.”

Rey was quiet as she processed all of that information, craning her head to peer into the dark hall behind the glass, although all she could ever make out were the dull blue-white running lights along the floor.

“You can use the Force.  _ The _ Force. Like the Jedi.” It was the first thing her mind had latched onto. Kylo huffed into her hair with a startled laugh. “A Jedi-Octopus.”

“I am not a Jedi. Nor an octopus.” He sounded equally offended by both titles, and Rey rolled her eyes again. Kylo’s hand caught her under the chin, tilting her face towards him. “I hate it when you do that. Am I irritating you answering the questions you have asked?”

It was the first time he had shown her a shred of temper or aggression, and Rey looked at him wide-eyed, feeling her breath catch as his hand slipped down to grip under her jaw.

“Please, Kylo, I didn’t mean… I’m sorry. I’ve only ever heard stories. The Jedi use the Force. Octopus are wriggly things that live in the ocean.” She shook her head, begging him to understand. “I’ve never seen either one, how am I supposed to know what they look like?”

“I believe I told you my people are called  _ drakkan _ .” He looked at her expectantly.

“ _ Drakkan _ . Yes, you did, I’m sorry.”

“Good.” His hand slid around to the back of her head, tucking her against him again. “The Force does not belong to the Jedi. It existed long before them, and will continue to exist after their end. My people have used it for thousands of years, but when the Jedi came, we refused to let them take our young.”

“Oh.” Somehow that didn’t seem right to her, and Rey frowned. “What do you mean, the Jedi came to take your young?”

“That is what they do. Take youngsters who are barely able to feed themselves away from their homes and family to brainwash them into Light-worshipping ascetics.” 

He sounded very sure of himself, and Rey didn’t want to argue, given she had no real information to base her assumptions on, any more than she could argue that Kylo was part octopus. 

“They never mention that, in the stories. Just ‘Master Yoda defeated the Sith,’ ‘Master Luke blew up the Deathstar.’” She shrugged. “I didn’t think about… how they actually learned to be a Jedi.”

“Hmm. Would you like to hear a true story, my curious little lover?” Rey nodded, snuggling close against him, and he continued in a voice just above a whisper. “Once there was a queen, and she loved a young warrior. Their engagement was forbidden, because the warriors of the ocean took vows against marriage, and of course a queen of the landfolk would not be allowed to wed a seafolk, or a commoner. But love is a powerful force, and the queen met with her lover in secret in spite of all their differences. At night, when the moons were bright, she would wade out into the sea behind her castle, and the warrior would come to her.”

“You said it was a true story,” Rey complained. “No queen would risk her status like that.”

“Hush. It is true, and believe me, she paid for her mistakes dearly.” Kylo stroked her calf and ankle with the end of a tentacle as he talked. “Every night they met, the warrior would beg her to be his mate, willing to throw away his vows and honor and everything he’d worked for if she would only consent. And one night, she did, and the young warrior was truly happy for the first time in his life. But the queen insisted they continue their secrecy, worried over what would happen to them both if word should get out, especially because the kingdom under the sea was at war with a rival tribe. So the warrior agreed, and they kept their secret, until one day the queen of the landfolk found herself with child.”

“Oh, kriff!” Rey exclaimed, pulling away from his chest to crane her head up at him. “So it really is possible?”

“Have I lied to you in any way since you came here?” He looked offended, his dark red eyes somber, and Rey stiffened as the tentacle around her leg tightened, the tip kissing the back of her knee. “I only want you to understand, Rey. I will not hurt you, and I will never lie to you. I want you to be my  _ mate _ . But only if you choose to.”

“Okay. Alright. Children are possible.” She swallowed. “Um… Do they… How does it…?”

“There are usually two or three, although sometimes just one. Most of the time they appear  _ drakkan _ , but occasionally male offspring will be humanoid.”

“Two or three.” She had to remind herself to breathe, this was the long-term future. Humans could have twins sometimes, and three wasn’t completely unheard of. She needed to know the rest, but had no idea how to phrase it, or if he would even know. He said there were others of his kind, his mother was the queen of his people, maybe she could just ask… No, she had to know  _ now _ . “Ahh… Do they… come out… the same way?”

“Mmm… It’s best done in the water. My mother and her healers will help you, and the landfolk have medical droids.”

Rey couldn’t quite hide her sigh of relief.  _ Medical droids. _ His planet was at least more advanced than Jakku, at any rate. Pregnancy there might as well be a death sentence.

“Rey?”

“It’s okay, I’m fine, I just… Jakku is a real wasteland. I moved into an old Imperial walker way out in the desert and learned to fight off boys as soon as I started bleeding, because getting pregnant there…” She suppressed a shiver. “It never ended well.”

“If you’re afraid…” He hummed, pulling her against him and stroking her hair soothingly. “There’s no rush Rey. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure they gave you the same implant they’ve given all the other females, it will last a long time.”

She blinked stupidly. An implant. Of course,  _ of course _ , they would have given her something like that.  A place like this couldn’t risk losing any of their profits, unless they were making  _ that _ kind of disgusting crap as well… Which they probably were, somewhere in this horrible place… One of Kylo’s limbs wrapped around her wrist, gently pulling it from around his neck and drawing it between them.

“Here. Feel.” He ran the tip over a part of her upper arm, and she smoothed her fingers over the same line, feeling a faintly raised, firm ridge beneath the skin there. “See? No monster babies for you, unless you decide you want them later. Much later.”

She smiled slightly, shaking her head at his attempt at a joke. “You’re not a monster. That’s not why I’m worried.”

“I know.” She caught the retreating edge of his limb in her palm, bringing it to her lips and kissing the smooth flesh. Kylo gave a startled, but pleasurable gasp. “Rey, love…”

“Go on with the story,” she pleaded. “What happened to the queen and her monster?”

 


	5. Demons and Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "...There’s a festival every year where a few who are interested in finding a mate from under the sea lay wreaths of flowers and necklaces at the feet of the statue, which are covered underwater at high tide."
> 
> “Does it work? Shall I go and make a wreath for you, when we get home to your planet?” She combed her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck, making him shudder and turn to her with eyes glowing like hot coals.
> 
> “Would you?”
> 
> “Yes,” she whispered without hesitation. “Oh, yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blah, blah, Anidala was sad and Snoke and Hux are awful, but you gotta give them their due contributions to the story ;)

“Go on with the story,” she pleaded. “What happened to the queen and her monster?”

“It’s not a nice story. I’m not sure you want to hear the ending… Especially now that I know what your life was like on Jakku.” The appendage around her leg wound further up, teasing over the top of her thigh. “Maybe you’d like to do… other things?”

“No. Later,” she added, sensing his injured feelings. “They’re gonna want us to perform anyway. Finish the story while we have time.”

Kylo sighed heavily. “While the warrior was fighting, far away from his queen, he began to have visions. Terrible, awful dreams that his beloved mate would die. Eventually, he came to realize these visions related to her pregnancy, and he became obsessed with finding a way to cheat death. Instead of asking his friends, other warriors who would most likely have helped, regardless of his broken vows, or returning to his queen to provide support while she labored in the last days of her pregnancy, he went to see one of the queen’s rivals on a far island. Rumor had it that the man, a known Force-user, had the knowledge to master death, and he convinced the warrior he could help, but he asked a terrible price.”

“Well that sounds like an awful plan. Why wouldn’t he just make sure his queen had trustworthy healers and a good medical droid?” Kylo chuckled, shaking his head. “Really, some mysterious Force-user who has forbidden lore about death? Sounds like a Sith to me.”

“Oh, he was. And he told the warrior that, in exchange for the life of his queen and children, he must destroy the young of the rival kingdom. The  _shearl_ and  _drakkan_ often intermingle, some of the landfolk were his own people’s children, in addition to his queen's subjects.” At Rey’s horrified gasp, Kylo paused. “I told you, you didn’t want to hear it.”

“You didn’t say it involved the murder of _children_. For fuck’s sake. Who the hell was this guy? I hope he got what he deserved.”

“He was my grandfather,” Kylo said softly. “And he did, eventually. The queen’s rival turned out to be a Sith, just like you guessed. My grandfather suffered in physical and emotional agony for the rest of his life, knowing what he had done.”

“And the queen?”

“She died. Alone, half in the water and half out. When the others found out what my grandfather had done, they followed him and he was struck down before he could reach her side, by his best friend. He survived, but… He lost all of his limbs in the fight. He was nothing more than a battered husk, in the end. The Sith found him and gave him an artificial body, and he oversaw the government of our sector when the Empire took over.”

“What about their offspring? Was that your mother?”

“My mother and her twin, yes, “ he confirmed. “My grandfather’s apprentice found them. They were separated out of fear that he would come back and try to claim them, so my mother was raised by the king and queen of the kingdom under the sea, and my uncle was raised in exile by my grandfather’s apprentice. She taught him to use the Force, and later he challenged his father and defeated him. Supposedly, he was grateful in the end. He could not strike down his own son, and he went to his death eager to join his queen.”

“That’s… incredibly sad.” Rey paused, unsure of what to say after all that. “I’m glad you told me. What was her name? Your grandmother?”

“Padmé. The people of her kingdom honored her memory by building a memorial statue where she died, with my mother's aid and funding. By all accounts, she was a beautiful woman, inwardly as well as outward.” He gave her a sort of faint smile. “She’s sort of revered now, by the landfolk. There’s a festival every year where a few who are interested in finding a mate from under the sea lay wreaths of flowers and necklaces at the feet of the statue, which are covered underwater at high tide."

“Does it work? Shall I go and make a wreath for you, when we get home to your planet?” She combed her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck, making him shudder and turn to her with eyes glowing like hot coals.

“Would you?”

“Yes,” she whispered without hesitation. “Oh, yes.”

Kylo kissed her fervently in response, aggressive and demanding and somehow still tender with affection, his sleek limbs wrapping around her possessively. For some reason, Rey felt tears prick her eyes as she kissed him back, licking eagerly into his mouth, delighting in his low growl of approval as he opened for her, his sharp teeth catching her lower lip. She moaned, but it caught strangely in her chest, and Kylo released her to look down searchingly at her face.

Frowning, he raised the tip of a tentacle to catch the wetness at the corner of her eye, and Rey felt another sob rising up.

“Have I upset you somehow, my love?”

“No!” She shook her head emphatically. “No, Kylo, it’s not you, it’s just… No one’s ever wanted me before. Not… not like you.”

“Surely such a beautiful girl as you has had offers -” He cupped her face in one large hand, his thumb stroking her cheek, and Rey focused on the soft glow of his eyes, pinpricks of light in the suffocating darkness.

He was a beautiful creature himself, if not precisely what she expected to fall in love with, and he had already shown her more kindness than the fiendish humanoids she'd encountered working for Unkar Plutt. Sure, the shadowy limbs and red eyes were a bit demonic, but Rey knew what true demons _acted_ like, and Kylo was far, far from that sort of creature.

“Nothing like you. They just wanted to…” She shook her head. “To use my body. Any body, really. They didn’t want _me_.”

“I find that very hard to believe. You are strong and intelligent and loyal, all fine qualities in a good mate, and rarer than a black pearl.” He looked shocked at Rey’s harsh laugh. “Why do you scoff? I am a prince, I have courted others, at least partly for my mother’s benefit. I have never met anyone like you. If you make an offering to my grandmother, I have no doubt I will have to fight off others to claim you.”

“The men of Jakku, aren’t looking for lifemates. Neither are the few spacers who stop off to buy Unkar’s junk.” She peered up at him curiously. “You would fight for me?”

“Yes,” he answered firmly, draping more loops of his warm, heavy limbs around her possessively. “Absolutely.”

Rey sighed, content to lie in his embrace and share his fantasy for the moment, without the pressure to perform or the need to whisper careful battle plans.

“Don’t worry. I won’t lose you.”

“I never thought you would.”

 

Right on schedule (as far as Kylo could measure time, anyway) Hux’s nasally voice came over the speaker early the next morning.

“It appears as though you too are getting quite cozy,” the redhead sneered. “Director Snoke has been reviewing your numbers and that unsolicited performance the other day has been very popular. We’d like you to repeat it, with a few extra instructions, of course.”

Rey had roused halfway through Hux’s orders, adorably rubbing sleep from her eyes and giving a reluctant sigh.

“I really don’t want to do this right now.” She nuzzled her face into his neck. “Do you think the demonic overlords will give us another hour?”

“I can ask.” He rubbed her back soothingly with the tip of one of the limbs wrapped around her, and raised his voice to address the com. “I’m not um… ‘feeling up’ to a performance right now. Could you give us an hour to… you know, wake up?”

“Hmph. I tell you you’re popular and suddenly you become a diva. Get the girl to warm you up. I’ll give you thirty minutes.” Kylo was surprised, but he kept his expression still and vaguely bored-looking. The man’s voice was low, and syrupy-sweet. “And I want the girl _covered_ in your freaky cum, monster. Covered and begging to come herself. You can do that, can’t you?”

Rey stiffened, and Kylo heaved a sigh, making his tone into a bored drawl. “Oh? Do you watch us, human? Are we performing for an in-house audience now?”

“Do as I say, or there will be no sustenance or hydration for either of you! Thirty minutes!” There was a slam from up above, and the lights went dark again.

“I hate that horrid little man,” Rey hissed furiously. “Ugh. I don’t know if I can… knowing he’s watching….”

“Rey, thousands of people are paying to watch these recordings. That’s what they do here.” He pulled her away from him slightly, sending a limb to gently stroke the back of her thigh. “Remember yesterday? Just focus on me. I’ll wash you after, I promise. I even have soap, just… please don’t, don’t give them a reason to take you away…”

"You're really scared of that, aren't you?"

"I have been here a while... there were two others, before you." He looked away, eyes peering gloomily into the darkness. "The first I could not speak too, though she understood our situation perhaps better than I. She was... quiet. Melancholy, and I can only assume she had been treated similarly in the past. I didn't want to harm her, even when Snoke threatened to starve us, but Hux came in and spoke to her in her own language, and she made attempts to solicit me, after."

He paused, trying to ascertain Rey's reaction. So far, she merely listened, her head resting comfortably against his shoulder as she toyed with a lock of his hair between her fingers.

"I have no idea what he said to her, and they did not see fit to explain to me what would happen if I refused to perform with her." He had tried, really, but it would have taken a colder, crueler creature than him not to see how frightened and disgusted she was behind her transparent attempts to play along. "I did try, but... It was clear she took no pleasure in it, and I am not so selfish as to seek my own enjoyment at the price of another's misery. One day, Hux came and... before he took her away, he took her very roughly in front of me, under the guise of a 'demonstration.' I've no idea what became of her, but I cannot imagine her prospects in life got any better."

"You mean he..." Rey looked ill. Of course, the woman was probably a pleasure slave, she would have been accustomed to assholes like Hux, but the fact that he did it  _here_ , where Kylo had no choice but to bear witness, seemed to offend her personally. "I can't even imagine what that must have been like. I'm sorry, Kylo."

"You have nothing to apologize for, but now you understand -" He tightened his arms around her, nearly crushing her to his chest, but Rey didn't want him to let go, not ever.

"I do. But I'm not defenseless, especially against him," she reminded them both.

"He won't get the chance to touch you, Rey."  _Never! Kill Hux. Protect mate!_

"What about the next girl?"

"She cried. For hours and hours. I was able to get her to speak some, but then they demanded a performance." He sighed. There was no right choice there, any action he chose would have been equally horrible. "I refused. Hux came again, and shot her with a blaster. They left her as a reminder to me, I suppose, but it caused the water to go bad and I was very ill, after. Snoke was displeased at the waste of funds to filter and replace all the water, and pay for expert medical care. I believe they spent some time and effort scouting for a truly suitable companion, after all of that. I suppose they were successful, though I despise the idea of giving those demons any credit."

"Kriff! Well, I'll be sure and thank Hux for the opportunity." Her voice was icy, her breath hot on his neck and her tiny fingers gripped his shoulder with a solid strength. "Right before he takes his last breath. Snoke, too."

"Five minutes!" The red-haired demon's voice hussed through the overhead comm. Kylo felt Rey moving against him, slipping into the water to wrap her wiry legs around his waist, her eyes closed tightly.

"Kylo, touch me. Please, it's okay..."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, wtf Anakin? Why wouldn't you just ask for help and make sure your wife had the best medical droid available?! Clearly you were more afraid of getting kicked out of the Jedi Council than you were of your wife dying.


	6. Don't Stop Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Ugh, kriff . You’re an expensive pet, aren’t you? Recycled salt water, not hot but, not too cold, fresh meat twice a day…” She trailed off as his exploring limbs reached her neck and rubbed firmly at the knots at the top of her spine. “Ohhh… Whatever you’re doing, don’t stop…”
> 
> “You seem to be saying that quite often.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's cold and snowy here and has been for like a week, so since I don't really leave the house when it's below 35... Enjoy this double update. The chapter count has gone up a bit, because I'm me and I had to have an epilogue... or two. We'll see.

 

"Kylo, touch me. Please, it's okay..."

She closed her eyes and he could see her visibly trying to relax under the gentle prodding of his tendrils, stroking her thigh and the under curve of her breasts. Taking a deep, half-shuddering breath, Rey looked up at him with a guarded expression, just as the lights flared on overhead.

She winced, squeezing her eyes shut again, and he moved her further up his body, capturing one of her nipples in his mouth. Her low whimpering was small and feeble-sounding in the large enclosure, and Kylo broke away, reaching for her hands and guiding them up around his neck gently.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart," he murmured for her ears alone.

Rey turned her head towards him, and he moved in to press his mouth to hers. She opened for his tongue, moaning softly and winding her arms up to thread her fingers through his hair, clutching onto him desperately.

He spread her legs with care, teasing slender limbs through her folds, and broke their kiss so he could bring her taste to his mouth, sucking each one clean while she watched in rapt fascination.

“You like that?” At his nod, she dipped her head, and he couldn’t see it, but he could tell her cheeks were flushed. “Do you want to… You can taste from the source, you know.”

Kylo leaned his head down to catch her eyes.

“Can I?” He studied her expression earnestly. Of course, the idea had occurred to him before, but he thought she might be opposed to it. Humans could be very... particular about fluids, he knew they detested the taste of blood for example, although Rey had proven to be exceptionally practical so far. "Would it be... enjoyable for you?"

“Yes. It might… it might help…” She swallowed, eyeing him nervously, and his response was swift and eager.

Strong limbs lifted her slight weight, bringing her body up as he sunk down, settling into the water and using his hands to part her legs around his face. She smelled divine, too, something like a sweet, tart fruit, and he dragged his tongue through her without hesitation.

“Oh, stars, Kylo!” She yelled, already wriggling against his confining limbs, and he sent two of them up to tease her breasts as he dove in again, parting her further to lap at her entrance, where her sweet fluid leaked out.

At some point, Hux’s smug voice congratulated them on their decision to be good performers, reiterating his previous instruction, and he growled in rage at the interruption. If he had to do something so horribly demeaning, Kylo was determined to worship her properly first. But it was Rey who snapped loudly at the overhead com, muscles tensed around his shoulders with her hands flying to grip his hair and hold him down.

"Don't stop now," she hissed through gritted teeth. "That feels fucking amazing."

“My fierce little desert girl,” he chuckled, peering down the line of her body and dropping his voice to a whisper. “Can you?”

“I don’t know…” She yelped in surprise as he sought out the spot at the top of her sex, tonguing the hard little nub buried in her folds like a pearl. “Oh, _fuck_! Kylo!”

“That’s it, relax for me, sweetheart. It’s just us now. I’ll take care of you.”

He focused on her pearl, licking and sucking as her cries grew louder and he had to tighten his grip on her body to keep the movement of her hips from breaking his nose. A part of him thrilled at that, she was so very strong and fierce and yet kind... what an excellent mother she would be.  _Yes! Good mate, strong children!_  He silenced that pressing thought for the moment, holding her apart with his hands and burying his face in her sweet essence whilst slowly sneaking a tendril into her warm, ready entrance.

“Oh!” Rey sobbed, her slim legs trembling around him, heels digging into his back. “Please, don’t stop… take me like before…” Her voice was hoarse with lust. “I want to feel you everywhere…”

He groaned at that, so very happy to oblige, stuffing another tentacle into her clenching heat and sending another up to her mouth. She readily took it in, wrapping both hands around it like she had his member, sucking and sliding her tongue over the sensitive tip.

He withdrew one from her slick entrance, gathering her moisture to lubricate it before prodding carefully at the entrance beneath. Rey whimpered as he pressed in, filling her as much as her body would easily allow.

He was everywhere on her, applying stimulation at every possible place, and she came more quickly than he expected, sobbing and moaning around the appendage in her mouth, her lithe little body squeezing and pulsing around him.

Swiftly, he brought her down rest on dry stone and positioned himself above her, his mating limb hard and pulsing as he took it in hand and brought himself to finish. She flinched as his warm seed spilled over her, hot bursts covering her naked skin in blue-white splashes that he found shamefully satisfying to watch.

“Well done,” Hux’s voice sneered as the lights cut out again, leaving them to recover in private. “It seems you’ve both learned to be better performers. Your reward will be in the collection box shortly.”

“I will rip your tongue out one day!” Rey spat as Kylo pulled her gently into the water, knowing Hux would assume she was directing her abuse at the man in her cage and not the creature outside. “I mean it, you monster…”

“We will free ourselves, Rey,” he promised quietly. “And then you will be a princess, with all the luxury and freedom you deserve.”

His limbs moved deep below and one slipped up beneath her hand, the stolen chain wound around it. Fingers trailing over the strong metal, she gave a tired smile.

“Soon.”

“Yes,” He purred as he began to cleanse her body thoroughly. “Very soon.”

“Won’t soap contaminate the water?” She asked in a louder voice.

“It’s made from sea grasses. The medical droids who tended me before suggested it. I am sure it’s very expensive.” He shrugged, sliding behind her to work a lather into her hair and massage her scalp with strong, soothing fingers. “And the water is purified and recycled from somewhere, otherwise I’d be in a sorry state. Stagnant water would make my skin start to rot and Snoke has already sunk too much money into me to risk it. Plus it has to be resalinated in a very particular manner, and temperature-controlled. While I can handle the extreme cold of the depths on my home planet, our ocean is mostly warm, and space is _very_ cold.”

“Ugh, _kriff_. You’re an expensive pet, aren’t you? Recycled salt water, not hot but, not too cold, fresh meat twice a day…” She trailed off as his exploring limbs reached her neck and rubbed firmly at the knots at the top of her spine. “Ohhh… Whatever you’re doing, don’t stop…”

“You seem to be saying that quite often.”

 

“I need you to do something, and you’re not going to like it,” she said later as they shared the raw fish wrapped in sea-grass that Kylo assured her was safe to eat. Rey carefully unrolled one of the bright red pieces from the thin green leaf, deciding she liked the meat better on its own. “But just listen, alright?”

“Seaweed is very nutritious,” he said, holding the discarded dark greenery out to her. “You need your strength, Rey.”

“I’m fine. Trust me, I’ve eaten better as a prisoner here than I ever have in my life.” She tried to bat his hand away, then folded her arms over her chest when he refused to back off. “Fine, if I eat the disgusting green stuff, will you listen? Please?”

“Of course.” He carefully watched every single bite, looking quite pleased when she swallowed the last of it with the help of a gulp from their shared canteen. “I am listening.”

“I need you to try and drown me, and it needs to look at least somewhat real.”

Red eyes flashed dimly over her face. “You need… why?”

“Because I asked.” She leaned in close and spoke into his ear in the lowest voice she could manage. “We need them to think we’re at odds. If they see me cooperating, letting you take care of me like this… It doesn’t end well. Part of the draw of this stuff is the resisting.”

“Ah, I see your point. But why not just make a show of your disgust for the recording? You can pretend a bit more, can’t you?” Clearly he was not capable of harming her, and Rey was grateful for that, but she didn’t think Hux would be so easily convinced.

“I could, but that won’t work on Hux. He’s already seen us together too much.” She bit her lip, winding her arms tightly around his neck to hold herself close against him. “He won’t risk coming in here unless he absolutely _has_ to. For example, if one of us is in need of medical care.”

“Hmm.” He gnawed at his cheek thoughtfully, stroking her face with the tip of a limb absently. Finally he sighed, giving his head a shake to clear the hair from his eyes.

“Can you do it?”

“I think so, but you have to trust me.”

“I trust you, Kylo,” she promised immediately.

“There’s one other thing,” he said, slowly loosening his coils around her until she was clinging to him for fear of the deeper water beneath her. “You have to learn to swim.”


	7. That's the Force!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With her eyes closed, she focused on the sounds inside her head, the strange way she could ‘hear’ Kylo’s mind and ‘feel’ the warmth of his presence… and beyond him, there were other spots of warmth, most colored with bleak, sorrowful or lonely emotions, and Rey swallowed thickly.
> 
> *This place is so awful. All these people… We have to help them, Kylo. I won’t leave people in slavery like this if we can get them out.*

“There’s one other thing,” he said, slowly loosening his coils around her until she was clinging to him for fear of the deeper water beneath her. “You have to learn to swim.”

 

 For the first time in her life, Rey awoke slowly. She was warm and content, sighing as she adjusted her arms around Kylo’s strong neck. It was too cold for her comfort in his enclosure, a malady her lover had remedied by wrapping her up in his heavy, warm limbs until only her head and upper arms were free. It had taken her some time to grow comfortable enough with him to actually sleep through an entire cycle, but it seemed this time she had, and the exhaustion she’d experienced since they’d brought her to him had faded.

Rey turned her head, nuzzling her forehead against his neck and pressing a kiss to his chest, and Kylo hummed in pleasure.

“Did you have a restful sleep, sweetheart?”

“I… Actually, I did.” She took a deep breath, doing a quick inventory of her body, and her eyes squeezed shut as she groaned. “I’m not tired, but I still feel like I lost a fight with a wookie. It even hurts… inside…”

Kylo lowered his head to meet her eyes, a long-dwelling sadness in his sympathetic expression.

“I know, Rey.” Gently, he unwound her, lowering her body into the water as he swam to the deeper part of the pool. “The water will help.”

She flinched when it first kissed her skin, but once it passed over her thighs and hips, Rey realized he was right. The cool saltwater churned around her, filling in all of her aching places and easing sore muscles, and she closed her eyes in relief.

“Better?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Good.” Abruptly, his hold on her loosened, and Rey found herself grabbing in panic at the single, thick tentacle looped around her waist. “Kick with your legs. When you can tread water, we will work on your breathing.”

“I don’t want to - Kylo!” She dug her nails into his flesh unintentionally, and he winced. “Please don’t let go!”

“Shh… I won’t, I won’t. I’m right here, Rey.” He tightened his grip until she stopped flailing, shaking his head and redirecting his gaze away from her. Rey eyed him, though she couldn’t make out much besides his shoulders shaking and the curtain of hair hiding his face. “You’re alright, my little sand rat.”

“Are you -” Rey glowered, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment. “You are laughing at me! Kylo!”

“Put your legs down, all the way,” he instructed with a barely-contained smirk. “Trust me.”

Hesitantly, she did as he asked, carefully extending her body deeper into the water, though her instincts screamed against it. Her bare toes brushed something, and at first she thought it was him, but then she realized… Furiously, she cupped her hand in the water and flung it towards him.

Kylo continued to snort with laughter as Rey eased herself down, still gripping his single limb for balance, until her feet were firmly planted on the base of the giant tank, the water just reaching her upper arms.

“Okay, right, just keep laughing!” She tried to cross her arms, but struggled to balance and grabbed his patiently-waiting limb. “Well, I’d like to see you rappel down the inside of a Star Destroyer some day!”

She splashed him again, completely ineffectively, and he retaliated by curling another limb around her outstretched arm, tugging her towards the deeper water.

“Kylo!”

“Kick your legs and hold onto me!” He insisted. “I’m not going to let you drown, Rey. I have fourteen arms. Just relax!”

Kylo wriggled his long limb, and Rey struggled to keep her head above water as he pulled her away from where her toes touched, kicking wildly. “Good! Good girl! See, you can do this!”

It was impossible to glare when she couldn’t even see him clearly, but Rey did her best as she thrashed about, and Kylo just shook his head, laughing at her water-logged hair tangled in her face and her feet breaking the water behind her in violent splashes.

“You’re… merciless!” She panted. “Stop, please! Kylo - I can’t breathe -” Tears sprang into her eyes, but Kylo was undeterred.

“If you can speak, you can breathe,” he replied with a dark chuckle. “Keep it up, Rey, you look good struggling like that.”

Suddenly, she realized what he was doing, and almost laughed with relief. _Of course! Idiot._ Rey didn’t realize she’d managed to free herself from Kylo’s grip until she moved her arms and found no resistance, and on instinct she kicked her feet and struck out for the nearest outcropping of artificial sculpted rock. Clambering up from the water, she crawled away from him to the opposite corner and sat against the wall, wrapping her arms around her legs for what little warmth she could get. She didn’t have to fake the shivering, or the panting, but she did have to fake revulsion at the sight of his questing tentacles edging towards her.

“Go away!” _Come here!_ “I’m so cold, please, just let me be.” _Hold me, please!_

_Rey._

She looked up as he moved closer, unable to look away even as she tried feebly to feign disgust, kicking out at a limb that sought to wind around her ankle. He took hold of her anyway, easily overpowering her increasingly pathetic attempts to extricate herself, and she only whimpered when he parted her legs and drew her down to the water’s edge.

“Shhh… shhh… be good now. I can see you shivering. I just want to warm you up.” His eyes held her momentarily, clearly indicating just _how_ he intended to do that, and Rey was glad of the darkness that hid her blush. She turned her head away, but not before giving a slight, imperceptible nod with her eyes. “You don’t have to look, Rey. Just be still for me.”

“Whatever you want, monster.” _You’re not a monster._ It hurt to even say the words, knowing how gentle his heart truly was, but she spat them out as if they burned her tongue. “I hate you, you know.”

_I love you. I’ll give you anything you want._

_I know._

Her gasp as he lowered his head to lick up and down her slit was pained, though she doubted they could really tell the difference in her cries. Still, she threw her head back and growled, low and angry, forcing herself to think of Hux and his perverted Huttese master profiting from their forced sex work.

Kylo’s limbs wound around her wrists, warm and thick and _oh_ , she had no idea it would feel so good to have him holding her like this, pretending to take her by force. More tentacles wound over her waist and chest, silken tendrils covering and massaging her chilled nipples, and the sudden change in temperature brought a scream to her lips.

“Yesss… scream for me, little girl,” he purred, holding her eyes as he parted her wide with his hands. “Do you know how wet you are down here? Why do you resist so much? Your body knows what it wants.”

“Please, I’m so sore.”

_Please, lick me again._

“Oh, Rey. I will have you begging to come for me.” His eyes flashed in the dark as he lowered his head, licking and sucking and tasting her everywhere, his warm tongue following the usual paths instead of his wider limbs. _Stars, you taste so good._

“I-I want you,” she whispered brokenly, deciding a bit of realism was called for. “I want to…”

“You want to what, sweetheart?” She whined as he left off sucking on her pearl, trying in vain to lift her hips towards him. _Are you close?_

“I want to… to come… please…” She closed her eyes, relaxing muscles she didn’t realize were tensed, speaking in a small, shameful whisper. His limbs tightened around her, thick and heavy on her wrists and ankles, smooth flesh rolling over her nipples. “Oh, fuck… please…”

“What do I get in return?” _You like it when I hold you down?_

 _Yes. Yes… it’s…_ “Whatever -” Her voice broke and she swallowed against her dry throat. _I want to give you everything… I want to be yours…_ “I’ll do whatever you want.”

_You do? Anything?_

“Good,” he murmured, finally returning his mouth and tongue where she most wanted it. He was so warm, moving over her, and the delicious pressure everywhere made her feel possessed, taken by the powerful creature before her.

She didn’t scream, her voice was too hoarse, but when her eyes closed and her hands fisted under his grip, her body quivering and spasming around him, Kylo gave a feral roar of triumph loud enough for the both of them. Rey had no choice but to lie there, still pulsing in his grasp as he licked away her spill to his own satisfaction.

Slender tendrils stroked her face as he pulled himself up on the rock beside her, settling down against the wall before gathering her close. One of his tentacles edged up along her neck, the tip tickling just behind her ear as he bent his head to sigh against her damp hair.

_Rey. Do you hear me?_

_Yes, of course. How could I not? You’re in my head._

He chuckled, shaking his head and showering her in water droplets. He slipped his hand down and tipped her chin up to gaze into her eyes.

“You really are something, aren’t you?” He whispered with a trace of awe, a smile tugging the corners of his soft lips. _You understand this means you’re Force-sensitive, as I am?_

“I -” Kylo clicked his tongue sharply and she closed her mouth, pursing her lips in thought.

_Does that mean we can try to break the barrier again?_

_No, I don’t think that’s going to work._ His breathy sigh was warm against her hair. _I’ve been thinking. We need to take over the ship._

_Yeah, I know._

Rey couldn’t help burrowing closer into his warmth, the enclosure was freezing when she was wet, and while her orgasm had warmed her in the moment, now she was sweaty and cold and tired again. He held her tight against his chest, making a sort of low growling sound in his throat that reminded her of the loth-cats that lurked around Niima Outpost’s scummy bar.

_Someone’s happy today._

_Hmm?_

_You’re purring. Like a cat,_ she teased, and she knew he could see the image of the fierce, furry little creatures in her mind.

 _Humans don’t… make noises like that?_ It seemed to have made him self-conscious, and she stroked his chest soothingly.

_No, but don’t stop. It’s sweet._

_Oh. What do you do, if you’re feeling happy or lonely or… to soothe your young, perhaps?_

_Some people sing. I’m not very good at it, I don’t remember my mother ever singing to me._ Thinking about children and parents made her heart ache in ways she was unfamiliar with, and Rey rested her head against him silently for a while, listening to his soothing purr. _I don’t really remember my parents. Just them leaving me. I waited, hoping they would come back, hoping maybe they were famous smugglers or wealthy senators, but..._

“Your parents were nobody.” Somehow, his viewing of her memory had brought out the painful reality that she’d kept hidden from herself for all these years. He sounded angry, and Rey couldn’t really blame him. “They sold you off for drinking money.”

“You’re right,” she gasped, tears finally spilling out onto his skin as she buried her face in his shoulder. “I know. I’m nobody. I don’t deserve anything better -”

“Shh…” He rocked a little, his limbs rubbing soothing circles on her back and arm.

“Rey, you belong to me now,” he said firmly, speaking for the recorders. “Your parents sold you into slavery, and Snoke bought you for me. You’re nothing, nobody.” _But not to me. They did, and he did, but it’s your choice. Join me, help me take over the ship and once we’re free… I’ll help you however you want._

“I know.” _I want you. How many times must I say it?_

“You do?” _A million times. Everyday._ His eyes gleamed down at her, and she offered him a fragile little smile.

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

“Good.” His chest heaved in another relieved sigh. “You said you’d do whatever I wanted…”

“I did.”

“Will you let me feed you again?”

Rey sighed, rolling her eyes where she knew he couldn’t see her.

“More seaweed?” She never in her life thought she would turn down food, but she couldn’t help it. There wasn’t much in the way of aquatic delicacies on fucking Jakku, and the weird, chewy sea grasses tasted worse than her usual veg-meat portions. “I’m not going to starve, you know. There’s plenty of meat and grain.”

“You said you’d do anything.” _It’s important that you get the right nutrients if we are going to mate. There are vitamins and minerals in seafood that will help your body adjust, make you more receptive to my venom._

_YOUR WHAT??_

“I’m going to bite you when I’m ready to claim you. If you don’t get the proper nourishment, you might not survive.” He was staring down at her earnestly, and Rey wondered if he even realized he’d spoken out loud. “I doubt that will happen, you’re obviously more sturdy than you look, but you did grow up in a desert.”

_You won’t die, don’t worry. It’s just an exaggeration to make them think I’m attached to you. Snoke has been trying to force me to mate with someone since they kidnapped me. If they think it might happen now…_

“No, no, no! I don’t want you to _bite_ me.” She glared upwards, but her ire wasn’t directed at Kylo in any way. _They won’t take me away. I get it._ “Seriously, what the hell?”

_I will have to bite you, when the time comes._

_I gathered that. Biting and mating._ She suppressed a shudder at the strangely erotic image of Kylo fully claiming her with his teeth as he squeezed that thick, long extension inside of her.

“Stop that, or I’ll take you right now,” his voice was low, and it was clear he had seen the direction of her thoughts. “Now eat the fucking seaweed like I asked.”

“Fine.” Rey glowered as he fed it to her himself, piece by piece, as if she were a small child being especially picky about food. He purred while he tended to her, long fingers gently untangling her hair, while one of his many extra limbs brought the food to her mouth. “You’re getting something out of this, aren’t you? Feeding me, combing my hair, that massage yesterday… This is erotic for you.”

“Maybe.”

Her hand darted down in one swift movement, feeling for the hard member poking up behind her back, and when her fingers brushed it, she grinned.

“I knew it. Pervert.”

“Shush. You’re _mine_. I’ll care for you as I please.”

As much as she instinctively wanted to be independent, there was a certain sort of comfort in being cared for, and she found it was easy to relax into his gentle ministrations. Kylo purred behind her back as he braided her hair, long fingers working diligently to untangle the wet strands without hurting her, and she could feel his affection and low-key arousal vaguely, like an extra pair of ears had grown in her mind, hearing thoughts and unspoken emotions.

_That’s the Force. If you concentrate, you may find you can feel others, besides me, beyond our confinement._

With her eyes closed, she focused on the sounds inside her head, the strange way she could ‘hear’ Kylo’s mind and ‘feel’ the warmth of his presence… and beyond him, there were other spots of warmth, most colored with bleak, sorrowful or lonely emotions, and Rey swallowed thickly.

_This place is so awful. All these people… We have to help them, Kylo. I won’t leave people in slavery like this if we can get them out._

_I know._ Her prince sighed heavily, and she sensed unhappiness and dis-ease in his thoughts. _I don’t want you to get hurt._

_Don’t worry about me. I’m a scavenger, remember?_

_At least free the wookie first. I'm not sure I can hunt with you, it’s difficult for me to move with any speed out of the water, but he will be honor-bound to help you if you free him._

_That’s… not a bad idea._

 


	8. Vengeance Porn!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey’s eyes narrowed, but she refused to move any closer. So they had no intention of preparing her for the fact that she might be forced to carry the terrifying sea-monster’s offspring. Charming.
> 
> The light found her, and she blinked against the sudden brightness, momentarily blinded as the droid moved in. She reached out with her senses for Hux’s vile mind, and got a glimpse into what he was planning.
> 
> Kylo, the droid!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um.. If you're reading this and have sensitive triggers, IDK how you got this far, but I'mma do 'em anyway: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, DISMEMBERMENT, MENTIONS OF FORCED BREEDING... And of course, the standard GRAPHIC TENTACLE SEX is still on-going.

Huttese was a horrible language to hear first thing in the morning, and Rey thought for a minute she was back on Jakku, being bellowed at by Unkar Plutt. But this voice was different, more refined, but somehow  _ worse _ , slimy and manipulative where Plutt had just been callous and brutish.

_ “ _ Hux says you are enjoying your new pet _.” _ It was coming over the comm, somewhat choppy, but plenty loud. “I’ll have something nice prepared as reward after you mate her.”

“I’m not sure I will,” Kylo’s bored rumble resonated against her ear, and she could feel the dissonance between his words and his thoughts.  _ I’m not giving you that, you vile slug.  _ “She has an implant. Why waste my seed in her?”

Snoke chuckled over the microphone, and Rey grimaced, hiding her face against the tentacles that held her in a warm hammock just above the water.

“What are you talking about?” She asked Kylo plaintively. Clearly, Director Snoke had the impression she could not understand him, and she decided to maintain the illusion.

“The Director wishes to know what I desire for my reward once I’ve claimed you.”

“Why…” Rey had to think carefully. “Will they free me, if I let you fuck me like that?”

She decided she hated Snoke’s laughter even more than she hated Hux’s sneer. In addition to being cold and creepy, it was disgustingly wet and phlegm-filled, and the sound of the Hutt clearing his throat made her nauseous.

“Tell her whatever you like, sea monster. It’s up to you what happens once you mate with her. But if you’re concerned about her… fertility… I can send Hux to remove the implant. Perhaps we can get some views of her throughout the pregnancy, if it’s even possible.”

Rey didn’t dare look over at Kylo, but her mind raced. This was their chance!

_ Kylo! _

_ I know, my love. _

“Send in your flunky, but I do not want the girl injured.” He drew his tentacles tighter around her, as Rey did her best to look disgusted at him and not the vile Hutt and his sneering servant. “I remember what happened to the last girl.”

“Yes… Perhaps another demonstration is order, before I risk sending my best man into danger? You seem to enjoy restraining the bitch. Do a good enough job and I will consider your request.”

“One more performance,” Kylo bargained. “Then you will have her treated. I cannot mate a female who is infertile.”

“Fine, fine. I will give you a few minutes before I turn the lights on.”

_ Rey… _ She shivered as he drew her to him, her hands sliding wide over the smooth dark flesh of the limbs that held her. He regarded her with an open, adoring gaze as he held her before him, his hand stroking her face, evoking a low growl as she leaned into it.

“How are you always so warm?” She murmured, almost accusingly, and he chuckled. “Really, it’s  _ freezing _ in here. I’d’ve been iced over by now if you weren’t always covering me up.”

“The ocean deep is much colder than this, and the currents can change quickly. If I were unable to regulate my body temperature at will, I would be in a sorry state.” 

“You mean… Kylo! Have you been making yourself warmer… on  _ purpose? _ For me?” Was there anything he wouldn’t do for her?

_ No, nothing. Ask and I shall make it happen. _

“It’s not difficult. I do it regularly without thinking, but I am aware that humans customarily clothe themselves, and I believe they keep the temperature low to force you to accept my help. It is cruel and unnecessary, but simple to fix.” He shrugged it off. “Really, it’s nothing… Snoke wants us to perform.”

_ What do you want? _

“Of course he does.”

_ Anything. Hold me down again… Let me touch you… _

Abruptly, he leaned down, claiming a fervent, deep kiss, and she returned his affection, reaching out to slide her hands over the hard muscle of his chest, grasping his shoulders in her small, strong hands.

Then he let her down on the cool rock facade in the center of the enclosure, releasing all of his limbs and leaving her naked and startled.

“Wait!”  _ Kylo? _

_ Patience, my love. _ The lights came up soon after, and he did not leave her to wait for long, she could hear the water splashing softly as he moved around her.

“On your knees, little one. Do you want me to heat you up?” His voice sounded from behind her, and Rey turned her head to see him rising halfway out of the water, his eyes dark with lust, sending an answering thrill through her body. She nodded eagerly, climbing to her hands and knees as he wanted. “No, sweetheart. Tell me, don’t just nod.”

“I’m cold…” she hissed. “Please…”

Rey yelped at the unexpected slap of his hand against her exposed bottom, already warmed just from the flush it brought. 

_ Do you like it when I spank you? _ Rey bit her lip, deciding that, in fact, she did like it, and she whined wordlessly to see if he would do it again.  _ Rey? Answer, please. _

“Say it, Rey. Tell me what you want.”

“Please…”

He did slap her again, hitting the opposite cheek, and her cry this time was more like a moan than a sound of pain.  _ Yes, I think I do. Not so hard, please. _

“Please what?”

“Fuck!” She dug her nails into the hard plaster beneath her. “Touch me, please, oh, stars, please…”

Two of his limbs slipped beneath her, curling around the cold peaks of her nipples, so warm they almost burned her skin, but she leaned into the contact anyway, her back arched inward.

“Like this? Does that feel good, sweetheart?”

“Yes, ohhh, yes! More - touch me - between my legs -” she could hardly breathe when he did, gently working a single tip up her slit, sliding it back and forth beneath her, letting her squeeze her thighs around him. “Yes - there - gods!”

_ Hold me down and take me like before, with your mouth on me. Please, Kylo, please! _

_ You have to ask out loud, Rey. Otherwise I’ll do as I please. _ His thoughts were tinged with amusement as well as lust, and she could tell he was curious to see what she would do. All the times before, he had taken the lead, and she had enjoyed the things he did to her, but this was different. He wanted her not just consenting, but eager and enthusiastically participating.  _ Yes. Show me you really want me. I’ve heard you say it, but I want to see it. _

“Inside!” She begged, finally breaking. His touch was enough even now, she knew she could come if he just kept doing what he was doing, but Kylo had asked to see evidence of her desire for him, and she intended to give it to him. “Fuck me, inside, with your… with your limbs.”

He growled excitedly at her begging, the limb rubbing between her folds withdrawing slightly to plunge inside of her, thrusting deeper than she’d ever felt him. Rey groaned, feeling herself split wide around him, hot wetness spilling from her core as he filled her, over and over again, pushing deeper, pressing perfectly against the aching place inside.

“Oh, fuck,  _ there! _ Yes, yes!” She was going to come soon, she could feel it building, feel her body growing tight, and she wanted him to know. “I - I’m - Gods, that’s good - just don’t stop -”

“Good, good girl, come so I can taste you,” he murmured encouragingly. Heavy limbs curled around her thighs, pulling her wider and holding her open, exposed to his warm, greedy tongue lapping beneath her entrance, seeking out her swollen apex.  _ You’re doing so well, my sweet girl. _

_ Oh, fuck, Kylo! _

It took every ounce of control she had not to scream his name when she came, harder than ever, on his open mouth, but seemed determined this time to get more than one climax out of her.  He eased his efforts, gently lapping her oversensitive bits, but  made it clear he had no intention of stopping as he squeezed a second wriggling limb into her body, slowly taking up that sinful rhythm of sliding one against the other -  _ thrust, drag, thrust, drag _ \- while all Rey could do was whimper helplessly.

“Shhh… You can come again, can’t you, sweetheart?” He brought more limbs to caress the rest of her body, over her shoulders and neck, against her sides and thr back of her thighs, and she fell down to her elbows, unable to hold herself up under the onslaught of pleasure coursing through her body. “Use your words, Rey.”

“Yes,” she managed to whisper.

“That’s it, good.” Suddenly he removed his mouth, and Rey turned her head, sensing his movement and trying to see behind her. A free limb pressed down on her shoulders, winding around to cradle her head, effectively immobilizing her, though it did give her something more substantial to hold onto. “Ah, ah. No peeking. You know what’s happening.”

She closed her eyes, willing herself to relax as his tongue traced the puckered hole above her center, followed closely by another tentacle coated in her moisture. He pressed in there until her fingernails dug sharply into the limb that held her arms and head and she cried out for him to be careful.

_ Sorry - sorry, Rey - you feel so good, I just - I want to mate with you so badly - _

“Shh, okay, okay. I’ll be nice if you open your mouth for me.” 

_ It’s alright - let me suck on you -  _ She did as he wanted, taking a fourth writhing appendage into her body, hollowing her cheeks to take him deeper and stroking him with her tongue. It all felt good, she was smothered by him and she loved it, but she couldn’t stop imaging what it would be like when he fucked her with his mating limb and filled her full of his thick seed.

At first, the idea had seemed so repulsive, but now that she knew him, had him in literally every other way, Rey had to admit she wanted him, she wanted all of it. The mating, the biting, even… even children one day.

_ Rey?? You really want - _

_ Yes, Kylo, yes. I want to have a family with you. _

_ Even if they’re… like me? _

_ Of course! I don’t care what they look like, if they’re half sea-monster or if they have big ears and red eyes. They’d be ours, that’s all that matters. _

“Fuck, Rey! Come for me, I need to feel your little body squeezing me, please!” His mind wrapped around hers, seeking out the places she needed touched and the speed that made her tremble and pulse, his limbs writhing and thrusting until she crested finally. 

Bright, cascading lights flared before her closed eyes and she throbbed around him, sharp, muffled cries fading to little whimpers as sensation flared and slowly drained out of her.

He eased himself free of her body, gently turning her so she was on her back, and Rey forced herself up on her elbows, watching as he took his member in hand. 

“Wait, let me.”  _ Let me touch you, please.  _ With some effort, she surged towards him, pushing his hand out of the way and replacing it with both of hers.

“Oh!” He grit his teeth as her hands gripped him, clearly surprised and too aroused to think quickly. He laid his hands over hers, showing her how he liked it, and then let go to watch her with rapt attention. “That’s it, sweet girl… Rey, you’re so good…”

She glanced up at him, an idea forming in her mind, and before he could catch her intention, she ducked her head and licked the tip, catching his leaking blue-white spend on her tongue. The taste was nothing she’d ever expected, and she had nothing to compare it to, salty and sweet and strange, but the sound he made was so hoarse and broken, she had to do it again. 

He wouldn’t fit in her mouth all the way, but she could get her lips around the head enough to create suction, and given how he growled and his limbs wrapped around her and his hand fisted in her hair, Rey decided it was a brilliant idea.

_ Rey, I - I’m -  _

_ Yes, please. Let me taste you. _

“Oh, gods, that’s it, be good now and take it all… Ahh!” 

She had to grip his member tightly to hold it to her mouth as he came, flooding her with his hot, salty-sweet seed. It was more than she expected, even though she’d seen him spurt onto her stomach before, and try as she might she couldn’t swallow it all, letting it drip obscenely down her chin and onto her chest. 

“Fuck, I like seeing you with my cum all over you,” he groaned when he saw her. “Even if it is wasteful.”

“Excellent work from my top performers,” the slimy voice on the comm interrupted. “I’ll give you a moment to clean up before I send Hux in to remove her implant. I take it you find her satisfactory enough now that she’s willingly swallowed your spend?”

Kylo’s eyes rolled, hidden beneath his bowed head, and Rey tensed. She had almost forgotten what they were about to do, now she had no time to prepare. He stroked her hair, sensing her fear, and replied to Snoke in a casual, languid voice.

“I believe so. Send me your minion, as long as he does her no harm, I will not attack him.”

Rey climbed down to the water, quickly scrubbing her face to hide her anxiety. She barely noticed Kylo moving around behind her, sliding back into the dark pool almost silently, but she felt it when one of his limbs brushed her hands under the water, the cold metal it was curled around unmistakeable.

_ It’s time, my warrior-mate. _

Slipping into the water after him, Rey glanced his way only once, but their eyes locked as she took hold of the chain. She had to be fast.

_ Don’t get out of the water. Make him come to you. _

The lights in the room went down, surprising them both, and for a heartbeat of a second, she thought perhaps Snoke had lied to him. That they wouldn’t bother removing her implant just to satisfy the  _ drakkan _ ’s fickle whims.

But the hatch rattled, and slowly, the folding ladder descended. Followed even more slowly by Snoke’s sneering, ginger-haired assistant.

Rey gripped the chain tightly, setting her mouth in a grim line. They’d only get one chance at this, and it was all riding on her. She refused to let Kylo down.

A light flared near the man’s head from a little floating droid, one of the ball-shaped things with multiple robotic arms, and he peered over at them with a sneer.

“Come here, girl. Snoke has ordered some medical work for you.”

Rey’s eyes narrowed, but she refused to move any closer. So they had no intention of preparing her for the fact that she might be forced to carry the terrifying sea-monster’s offspring.  _ Charming. _

The light found her, and she blinked against the sudden brightness, momentarily blinded as the droid moved in. She reached out with her senses for Hux’s vile mind, and got a glimpse into what he was planning.

_ Kylo, the droid! _

Just as it reached her, hoovering over the water with one mechanical arm outstretched, it was knocked aside by a massive tentacle, thrown into the opposite corner of the room as Hux cursed. He took off after it, and Rey moved silently in the darkness, the lightweight chain wrapped around her fist, making her punch a near-lethal weapon.

The soul-less monster of a man barely had time to register movement, turning just in time to catch her first hit squarely in the center of his weasley face. He hardly made a sound, stumbling backwards and tripping over the damaged droid when she punched him again. If Rey had boots, she would have simply stomped on his face or aimed a kick at his head, but unfortunately for him, they’d left her naked as the day she was born. Unable to put him out of his misery more quickly, she circled around, the soft rattle of the chain against the ground the only sound besides Hux’s feeble whimpering and wheezing.

He gasped wetly, hands flying to his chest as she dragged the long extension of metal up over his prone body. She had to give him some credit, even with his face smashed in and blood trickling from his broken nose and open mouth, he managed to get a firm enough grip that she struggled against him for a moment, yanking on the chain with all her strength.

_ Kylo! _

For a moment, it seemed as if he would win their contest, but Rey had no intention of fighting fairly. She didn’t look up, but she knew where the trailing end of the chain disappeared into the water, gripped tightly under a mass of dark tentacles.

“Master!” The little man cried, muffled and choked by his own blood before the length of metal jerked from his grasp and cut him off. Rey leaned over Hux carefully, just close enough to see his broken face contort in pain and fear while he kicked and struggled for air.

She smiled, watching the light fade slowly from his bloodshot pale eyes, hoping he could still see her, that the last image his polluted soul carried into the underworld was her fierce expression of victory.

It takes a long time to fully strangle a human. Rey had seen it before on Jakku, knew the struggle could go on for as much as five minutes, before her opponent finally succumbed to the lack of oxygen and weakened state.

Kylo seemed to have more mercy than she did. The chain grew tighter as she looked on, eventually crushing his windpipe and then crushing the vertebrae at the back of his neck, nearly decapitating the vile little man.

Rey kicked the body a few times to be sure, before removing the chain and using the same tactic to separate one of the hands from his body. Then she quickly removed his clothes, grimacing in disgust at the process as Kylo looked on silently from the water’s edge.

_ I really don’t want to wear his clothes. I think I’d rather be naked. _

_ I hate to argue with that, but starships are very cold. _

_ Right. _ She clothed herself with his pants and jacket, which hung down to her knees, rolling up the sleeves and legs of the black uniform. With his socks rolled up and stuffed into the toes, his boots were serviceable for the short-term, and she made sure to empty his pockets of anything useful.

The medical droid was dispatched with a silent stun bolt from Hux’s blaster, and then Rey scavenged it too, extracting vials of tranquilizers and bacta patches from the chambers inside and helping herself to the tiny flashlight.

Stepping to the water quickly, she kicked Hux’s severed hand into Kylo’s waiting tentacle, then bent to give him a fast, hard kiss.

_ I’ll meet you on the other side, my love. _

_ Right. Be careful, please. I love you. _

_ I know. You be cautious, too. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone wish Hux a horrible time burning forever in the pits of hell!


	9. Vengeance Porn Part Two: Snoke's Boudoir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Ben Solo?* Rey glanced at Kylo as they moved, noticing the unusual way he climbed through the halls, tentacles grasping and pulling at any available corner or outcropping so that he flowed forward almost like swimming without water.
> 
> *You can pilot?*
> 
> *I just said… I built my own simulator from scavenged Imperial materials. Nothing else to do on Jakku, I had to pass my time somehow… You?*
> 
> *Ah. I didn’t give them my real name, because I knew my parents would search for me and I did not… I could not bear it, the idea that my mother would find some… recording…*

The wookie was as true as Kylo had expected, once the togruta with him had explained in broken Shyriiwook what Rey was saying.

“Those blue boxes hanging over the hallway,” the coral-skinned woman pointed out. “They are what blocks the Force. Destroy them and Warrl can get us out. Your sea-creature as well.”

Two shots from the blaster and the box’s electronics went dim, and Rey staggered under the sudden flood of sensory information that assaulted her. Vaguely she heard something crash and a loud, splintering sound like a broken cross beam cut into her ears amid the quiet hallway, and then there was a familiar, warm feeling wrapped around her stomach.

“Rey? Are you well?” Kylo - sweet, beautiful Kylo, free of their cage - spoke from behind her, and she sagged against the limb that held her, taking gulping breaths and gathering herself.

“I’m alright. It’s just -” she gestured with the hand not currently holding tight to a stolen blaster. “- the Force is - I didn’t expect it.”

“Ahhh…” He spoke again, his voice a low, strange growl, and Rey blinked as she realised he was speaking to the wookie, in his own language. Kylo’s thoughts found hers, and she followed the conversation easily enough as she watched the tall forest-dweller clasp the sea-dweller’s arm in a gesture of gratitude and friendship.

_“I am in your debt,”_ he said solemnly. _“You and your human. What will we do now?”_

“Yes,” the togruta who had directed Rey to the Force-dampener eyed her appraisingly, and she faltered slightly when Kylo withdrew his comforting limb. “You have saved us when you did not have to. Warrl is honor-bound to help you, and where he goes, we go.”

She gestured to the other woman, similar in coloring and build, with the same large violet eyes, and both of them came to clasp her hands. “I’m Jykatha, and this is my sister, Kiba.”

“I’m Rey,” she glanced over to see Kylo watching her with a hesitant but longing expression, and gave him a reassuring smile. “This is Kylo, and I go where he goes.”

Jykatha nodded, neither of the humanoid women so much as blinking an eye at her pronouncement, any more than she questioned theirs. She supposed they were in the same situation, trapped with a gentle beast who was expected to be a monster because of his outward appearance, and choosing the make the best of a bad situation.

“Hey there, I hate to ruin the party, but uhhh… Maybe we could join?” Someone spoke from the opposite side of their cage, and Rey belatedly remembered the devaronian Kylo had mentioned. “I assume you have Hux’s keys in that uniform?”

She patted her pockets for Hux’s key cards, but Kylo and the wookie beat her to the rescue, using their combined strength to rip the cell open.

“Or that, whatever works for you,” the man inside chuckled.

His horns looked positively demonic in the grim light, and if it wasn’t for his disarming smile and easy charm, Rey might have found him a bit frightening. But after spending a week locked up with Kylo and freeing the towering wookie, the young mostly-humanoid man was not even intimidating.

He grinned as he shook Warrl’s paw, then turned to assist his cellmate, another male humanoid with silvery, pearlescent skin and large, full-black eyes. A hint of feathing or fishy tails grew from his forearms and lower legs, and he had short, thick blue hair framing his faintly-scaled face.

He took one look at Kylo and shouted in surprise, pushing past the devaronian to grab his hand excitedly.

“Ben! Ben Solo! Your Highness!” The man started to kneel, but was held up by both his cellmate and one of Kylo’s swiftly-moving limbs. He was obviously injured, barely able to hold his own weight, and had no business trying to kneel, even if he did seem to recognize the prince of the sea. “Sorry, I just - I can’t believe it - we thought you were dead, Leia’s been mad with grief -”

“Captain Tico?” Kylo - or was it Ben? - peered at the scaled face searchingly. “How did you come to be… _here_ …? I certainly would have noticed a _shearl_ when they brought me in.”

“Nah, I’ve only been here a few weeks. Caught in the same trap you were while I was on the search for our missing prince.” He reached behind him, grasping the devaronian’s hand firmly. “This is Poe. Poe Dameron. He’s a pilot.”

“Yeah, uhh…” Poe Dameron flushed, blinking under Kylo’s stare, and Rey was reminded that none of them had any clothes, except the ones she was wearing, stolen from Hux. For the wookie and Kylo this wasn’t a problem, and the togruta women seemed unashamed, but clearly Poe was a little shaken. He rubbed one of his horns nervously.

“Uh, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Prince, but Snoke’s guards will be coming any minute now and we need to get to the bridge and out of Hutt Space before that vile son-of-a-bitch calls for reinforcements.”

“Agreed,” Kylo said shortly. “You can fly a capital ship?”

“With help I can,” Poe agreed.

“I can help,” Rey volunteered immediately. “I’ve flown plenty of planetery vehicles and done every flight sim you can imagine hundreds of times.”

“Great. That makes you my co-pilot,” Poe smirked approvingly. “Let’s get some supplies and take over that bridge.”

_Ben Solo?_ Rey glanced at Kylo as they moved, noticing the unusual way he climbed through the halls, tentacles grasping and pulling at any available corner or outcropping so that he flowed forward almost like swimming without water.

_You can pilot?_

_I just said… I built my own simulator from scavenged Imperial materials. Nothing else to do on Jakku, I had to pass my time somehow… You?_

_Ah. I didn’t give them my real name, because I knew my parents would search for me and I did not… I could not bear it, the idea that my mother would find some… recording…_

_Oh, kriff!_ Rey grimaced, wincing slightly, and Jykatha glanced her way worriedly, but she shook off the concern. _That would be awful…_

_I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It just seemed like an unnecessary complication._

_It’s alright, I get it. Really…_

“Ben,” she breathed his name almost reverently, smiling as he looked upon her with open affection. “It’s okay. I understand.”

They were waiting outside the door to one of the crew’s quarters, all of them ancy as the blare of alarms and flashing red lights sounded throughout the main decks.  Warrl had chased the unarmed personnel into a storage chamber and was holding it closed while Poe and the sisters searched their belongings for clothes and useful supplies.

Kylo was left carrying Captain Tico, whose first name seemed to be Finn, as odd as that sounded, and Rey belatedly remembered she had stolen bacta patches from the medical droid. Her prince watched carefully as she coaxed Finn into stretching out his leg for her careful ministrations.

“Rey, truly? You aren’t upset with me?”

“Obviously not.” She smiled slightly, more to herself than him. “Rey Solo. I rather like the sound of it, actually.”

“Wait, what?” Finn Tico blinked at her in surprise, and she giggled. “You’re gonna marry… him? Really?”

“Absolutely. Why not? He’s a prince.” She focused on the fish-man, keeping her expression neutral though he was obviously struggling under the torrent of questions she could sense in his mind.

_Really? You are?_

“Well, yeah, but I mean… You’re not from Siltana. You don’t know our customs, it’s not really accepted in the rest of the galaxy for… You know.” He made a lewd gesture with his hands, and then a violet flush colored his cheeks as she merely stared back at him, still maintaining an expression of innocence. “Cross-species breeding. It isn’t common.”

“I was given to understand such a thing was quite acceptable to your people. Or are you implying that I’m not worthy of such an honor?” She cocked her head in Ky - Ben’s direction. “I admit that may be an issue, but I am willing to learn if my prince will teach me.”

_Of course I will, but you’re quite intelligent. I’m sure you’ll be fine._

“I - uhh - no -” Finn stuttered, looking to Ben. “I mean, can you even - can she really -”

“Can she what? Did you injure your head as well, Captain Tico?” He folded his arms across his wide chest, red eyes dark and glittering with a kind of challenge. “You aren’t making much sense.”

“Can you get her pregnant? Without hurting her?”

“Oh, wow,” Kiba mumbled, stepping out of the room at precisely the wrong time and instantly retreating. “I’m just gonna… See if I can find some shoes. Yeah.”

Poe Dameron, who had followed closely on her heels, was giving Finn a very disappointed look, his head tilted slightly as he made a _tsk-tsk_ sound with his tongue.

“Really, Finn. I leave you alone for five minutes! Who cares if the human girl can have his squid babies!” He shook his head. “We’re all a bit crazy, after all of this. You asked me to come back and live with your wife and son!”

“I meant it!” Finn said earnestly, Rey and Ben forgotten as he stared up at his former cellmate. “Rose will understand, she’s so kind, and we’ve been through so much!”

“Hmm.” Rey felt eyes on her, and she started when she realised Poe Dameron was giving her an intense, appraising look over. “Well, I might consider it if I had some sort of job lined up, some place where I knew the people… You know, a nice cushy position with room and board and good pay -”

“I’ll pay twice the going rate,” Ben offered, catching his look. “My wife will need trustworthy staff. Guardsmen, perhaps even a captain of the guard eventually, when we get to her estate. Of course, it’s up to Rey, but…”

“I’d like that.” Rey glanced at Finn, smirking slightly. “If all the landfolk are going to be as shocked by my existence, it might be nice to have another off-worlder around who won’t be so judgmental. Or nosey about my private business.”

_His mind is honest,_ Ben commented. _I believe he wants to stay, he’s just unsure of his welcome._

_Yes, well. That puts him in good company._

_Don’t worry about Tico. My mother will love you, and everyone else will fall in line._

“Trust me, after this place, I don’t give a damn what any decent adult wants to do in their own beds. Or aquariums,” Poe shrugged.

“Consider yourself hired, then, Captain Dameron.” Rey offered her hand, and the devaronian swept her a low bow, bending over it like nobility already.

“My thanks, Princess.”

  
  


“Snoke’s chambers are just down that lift,” Jykatha pointed, ducking back behind the hall divider to avoid blaster fire from the guards. “I’ll cover you if you think you can get to it.”

Rey frowned, focusing on making her next shot count. The lift was small, and Snoke was sure to have more guards inside.

_I’m going down. Someone has to shut off those alarms before the signal reaches his allies!_

_REY, NO!!_

She glanced across the hall, where Warrl loomed behind Jykatha. He had recovered six thermal detonators with the rest of their stolen belongings, and wore them on a harness slung in a wide x-pattern over his furry chest.

Warrl followed her eyes and thoughts and nodded with a low growl of approval. Jykatha gave him a worried look, but he wrapped her in a one-armed hug and patted the top of her head.

“You better get that elevator blown open ASAP.” She grimaced, firing another well-aimed shot to take out the last red-armored battledroid. “Go, now!”

Rey knew Kylo would be furious, but so long as she survived, he would probably forgive her. And as long as she was alive, he would tear the whole ship apart to get to her. Hopefully, he’d only have to tear it apart a little.

She dive forward, rolling to her feet with Hux’s key card already in hand, slamming it down on the access panel and darting inside. The wookie dashed after her, squeezing beside her and tossing the detonator control to Jykatha.

“Give us five minutes,” she yelled over the deafening noise of alarms and blasterfire from elsewhere in the ship. “Wait for Kylo, don’t try to climb down alone.”

“Right,” the other woman nodded firmly. “Please don’t die.”

Rey punched in the code, and the lift dropped with some unexpected speed, barely giving Warrl and her enough time to set the explosives before she had to be ready to start firing when the door opened.

“Ah, young Rey.” The Hutt’s phlegmy voice made her reel in the dark, trying to peer through the humid fog that surrounded him. “I wondered if you might become a problem. My guards warned me you had Force skills, untrained as they are.”

_Shit. The guards are Force-users._ She glanced at Warrl, making no sound to answer Snoke as she began to circle in one direction, and the wookie moved opposite in the small, circular room.

“I’m so sorry to inform you that your abilities, extraordinary as they may be, will not give you an advantage,” Snoke was saying. From where she was, about halfway around, she could see the massive, gray beast looming over a bank of screens and consoles, his red-armored human guardians readied for battle on all sides. “And as I’m sure you must know by now, you will never succeed in destroying the recordings we’ve made together. But, you’re a smart girl, clearly. Much smarter than I anticipated. Perhaps we could help each other.”

“There’s nothing I want from you!” Rey sneered.

She didn’t dare glance up at the ceiling or think of Jykatha and Kylo up there coming after them, in case the guards picked up on her thoughts somehow.

“Oh, come now, foolish girl! Surely a scavenger like you knows when there is money to be made?”

She didn’t have a chance to answer, as Warrl’s growl sounded across the room, followed by the buzz and hiss of a vibroblade and more ferocious moans. Rey couldn’t see, but judging by the sounds, Snoke was down one guard and Warrl was in possession of a new vibroblade.

“Clever tactic, freeing the wookie first,” Snoke observed with disdain. “Although the monster in your cell would have most likely done your bidding just as easily. Perhaps you two weren’t as close as I thought.”

“Fuck you,” Ret spat, drawing the attention of the nearest guard. “Fuck you and fuck him. You were gonna have him fuck me full of his monster spawn and you didn’t even have the courtesy to warn me!”

“Now, now. Of course, I had to make him think that. Such a rare species he is.” The Hutt sounded almost proud, as if he were describing a prize hunting lizard. “They mate for life, you know.”

Rey was too busy closing with guard to respond. The son-of-bitch had some kind of chain weapon, and it was all she could to keep it from wrapping around her body and fire off a quick series of bolts. The red-clad fiend dodged all but one, a clean shot sizzling straight through the thigh and out the back. Warrl yowled in pain and Rey winced, realising he was directly across from her now.

The guard fell, but she had no time to savor her victory, as the two remaining had closed in on the injured wookie. Rey scrambled across, just succeeding in blocking a nasty blow with the chain-blade, but her lack of familiarity with the weapon made a counterattack difficult.

Snoke made hoarse, wheezing sounds that she supposed was his way of laughing, and Rey could see him clearly now, his massive jowls and yellow eyes illuminated by the blue glow of the screens around him.

“Even now, I have uploaded fifteen hundred videos in the last hour,” the monster chuckled. “You will never be free of your time here, any of you! Do think another human man will want you -”

“For all you know, I prefer women. Or maybe I really liked being the sea-monster’s pet, but you had to go and ruin by trying to make me have his babies!”

She jerked hard on the ends of the chain-thing, yanking the pike it was wrapped around out of the guards hands. Finally, having acquired a weapon she was familiar with, Rey had no trouble destroying the remaining guard, turning on her heel to confront Snoke.

“I really don’t give a single fuck who views those things, and I can make money off of them whether you’re dead or alive! So you’re going to die, because it will be my _pleasure_ to watch you die!”

“Such a waste,” the Hutt snorted, stubby arms typing at the virtual keyboards set up as close to his reach as possible. “Still, I did give you the option.”

Rey was a second away from stabbing the pike through his phlegmy black heart when a sudden weightlessness seized her, and she realized he had shut down the gravity generators. A glance below showed the flooring was actually unattached to the Hutt’s little pedestal, which was already half-shielded by a barrier of transparisteel descending from the ceiling.

Without gravity, she had no momentum to strike him, but Rey felt a grim smile split her lips even as the blast doors on the floor began to open to the vacuum of space.

She didn’t need momentum. She had the Force.

With everything she had left, Rey focused on the pike, visualized it streaming through the sturdy glass barrier, sunk deep in the center of the Hutt’s glob of sickly gray flesh. Cold pierced her concentration, and then a power even stronger than hers ripped her downwards, her closed eyes opening to catch that final, stunning glimpse of star-flecked black, before the pressure tore her apart.

_Kylo… Ben… I’m so sorry…_  


**_“NO!”_ **

The two togruta beside him flinched at his deafening scream, but he couldn’t spare them a single glance as they all watched the explosion taking place before them. Ben Solo, Prince of Siltana, wielder of the Force and a dozen long-reaching limbs capable of bending durasteel, was moving before the shockwave had even reached them.

He had only a split second to act, not even enough time to offer a warning to his companions or a prayer to his ancestors, but just enough to secure his limbs around the things he needed to.

His lungs burned and his gills opened and closed painfully, but there was no air to be had, except inside the tiny pod hanging above them, where their tormentor coughed and cackled.

A large pike had speared through the glass, puncturing one of the Hutt’s multiple hearts, but Snoke did not seem phased. No doubt, he expected to receive medical care as soon as the multiple distress signals he’d sent were answered.

He had no time for the Hutt. It was all he could do to wrench his lover and their ally back inside the ship and force the blast doors closed with the strength of his limbs and the Force combined.

It was _all_ he could do. He realized his limb would be trapped in the closing door and accepted it almost absently, too exhausted to care and really, he had thirteen others. What was one half of one limb in exchange for _Rey_?

They could have all of his limbs.


	10. Vengeance Porn III: Murder Orgy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suddenly, Rey froze, and she shoved gently at him, her hands grasping frantically along his limbs, until the damaged one, now wrapped at the end in a bandage of bacta. “Oh, Ben!”
> 
> “It was you or the limb,” he explained. “Lucky for you, I have plenty to spare.”
> 
> “That's not funny!”
> 
> “Ahhh… I hate to interrupt your moment, but we’ve got an issue over here,” Poe said after giving them a minute to compose themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm having waaaaay too much fun with the chapter titles, and I'm not apologizing. >:D
> 
> Also, I have no idea what the biology of a Hutt actually is, my Edge of Empires book says they have multiple hearts and Wookiepedia says they can live for centuries, but the rest of this just came out of my own damn head for dramatic effect.

“Oh, he’s coming around! Guys, guys!” It took him a moment to place the voice, and Ben blinked slowly up at the horned face swimming into his vision. “Hey, stay with me big guy!”

“Rey…,” he croaked, coughing. His whole body felt odd, prickly and itchy, raw and dehydrated… Something moved against his chest and he wheezed out a sort of relieved laugh.

“Ben.” Soft, dear hands stroked the inside of his limbs and he squeezed her tighter before easing his hold so she could free her hands. Rey looked up as he looked down, dried blood smearing one side of her face, her eyes tired and skin chapped from the cold of space. “You saved my life.”

“I did,” he agreed, mostly to remind himself. Rey laughed, her own voice just as hoarse, but Ben had never heard a more beautiful sound. “I mean, how dare you put yourself in such danger? I am very cross with you right now!”

“Oh, yeah, you sound like it.” She rolled her eyes a little, smiling.

“Do I?”

“No.”

“Not even a little?” He did his best to growl, but Rey put her hand on his chest affectionately, and he realized he was purring slightly, the attempt at fierceness only making him rumble more obviously.

“No.” She grinned, tilting her face towards him in an inviting way he recognized, and he leaned down to kiss her. Over and over and over again. “You must be very angry,” she teased in between.

Suddenly, Rey froze, and she shoved gently at him, her hands grasping frantically along his limbs, until the damaged one, now wrapped at the end in a bandage of bacta. “Oh, Ben!”

“It was you or the limb,” he explained. “Lucky for you, I have plenty to spare.”

“That's not funny!”

“Ahhh… I hate to interrupt your moment, but we’ve got an issue over here,” Poe said after giving them a minute to compose themselves.

Rey sighed unhappily as he released her, and Ben snuck out a limb to curl languidly around her waist as they turned to address the others. They were in what seemed to be Snoke’s personal quarters, although Ben had no idea how they’d gotten there. He assumed it must have been connected to the room with the monitors where he’d found Rey. The wookie was there, too, being cared for by the togruta sisters, his injured leg bandaged as well.

“What’s up, Poe?” Rey asked, peering at the panel of screens and data input the pilot stood in front of. Hopefully, they could make sense of it. Ben himself had only been on his father’s old starship, an entirely different design manufactured by the Mon Calamari decades before his birth.

“We need to make a jump, and we need to do it soon. We’ve got cruisers coming in from two sides, and they’re moving pretty quick.” He tapped a screen, where they could all see the trajectory of the oncoming starships, then moved to another. “Unfortunately, without knowing Snoke’s codes, we can only jump to preprogrammed coordinates.”

"Well, let's jump to the farthest programmed point, for now," Rey suggested. "I can try to bypass it, but this ship is worth a fortune in security engineering."

"Furthest place from here is Ord Mantell," Poe told them. "Not a great destination for a bunch of escaped slaves."

"There's got to be somewhere..."

Rey frowned, eyeing the list of options alongside Finn, who was still giving her an odd look now and again, annoying the hell out of Ben. He scowled, choosing to turn his attention to something else.

“Where is he?” He asked Dameron. 

“Snoke?”

"I might be able to get the codes from him another way."

Poe met his gaze, nodding at whatever he found there. “Come on, I’ll take you to him.”

It wasn’t far, thankfully, given how difficult it was to force a Hutt to move against its will, though they had managed to box him in with hastily scavenged and repurposed laser bars. Snoke appeared to be held captive in his own bathtub, a massive pool of carved marble that Ben momentarily envied, although he had no wish to join the disgusting creature in its swampy hole.

“Hey, Slugface!” Poe grinned, gaining the Hutt’s attention with his loud insult. A decent being might have engendered some small trace of pity, but Snoke’s haughty expression only made him look all the more pathetic. “You got a visitor.”

He seemed surprised to see Ben Solo peering at him through the bars of his makeshift cage, and the sea prince folded his arms over his chest, keeping his expression carefully neutral.

“Give us the access codes,” he ordered softly, using the Force to amplify his demand.

“Do you really think that’s going to work?” Snoke laughed, his scowl taking both men as well as the other freed prisoners standing guard over him with blasters and a bowcaster. “Foolish child! I have been in this business since before you were a tingle in your father’s nether region. Your Force tricks will not sway me.”

“No?”

The Hutt seemed to miss the dangerous edge in his voice, but Poe Dameron certainly had not. He eyed the mass of tentacles swirling beside him and stepped back a little, but clearly did not intend to come between Ben and whatever retribution he intended.

He smiled slowly, showing a hint of double rows of serrated teeth like a shark’s, and leaned his upper body away while he maneuvered his limbs into place. Despite their similar size, Hutts were not creatures intended to move with any kind of speed, while the strength required to swim under thousands of tons of water pressure gave Ben’s kind a startling alacrity in the open air. He had used this tactic against landfolk in the past, though never against something quite so difficult to find purchase upon.

Eventually, he had to settle for lifting Snoke’s entire body from the ground by his fat neck, and even then, the creature slipped from his grip slowly as he tightened his limbs around it.

That was fine, however. He had no intention of killing the slug-faced monster. Not yet, anyway.

Snoke gasped and wheezed when he finally oozed out of Ben’s grasp, dropping to the solid marble floor with wet splat that made the guards and Poe wrinkle their noses in disgust.

“The codes,” he repeated, fully expecting the Hutt to refuse. "I assure you it'll be easier if you tell us now."

Snoke didn’t bother to answer, too distracted by the need to suck deep breaths into the sad sacks of air that amounted to lungs in a Hutt’s cavernous body, and Ben withdrew his limbs, grimacing at the greasy feel of whatever waxy coating covered its skin.

“Do you mind?” He asked, turning to the tall twi’lek nearby with a bowcaster trained on their tormentor. The man shook his head, handing it over, and Ben aimed with care, waiting until Snoke stopped moving so much with the effort of breathing.

“Dammit, Solo, don’t _kill_ him,” Dameron admonished beside him. He fired once, a smooth, clean shot exactly where he'd intended, the Hutt grunting and squealing in pain without a single sympathetic glance from his former prisoners.

“Relax,” he said confidently, handing the weapon back to the twi’lek. “Hutts have four hearts and six sets of air saccs. He only needs one of each.”

“Two!” Snoke croaked hoarsely, waving his useless little arms. “We need at least two lungs or we’ll suffocate -”

“Slowly. You’ll suffocate slowly.” Ben smiled, admiring the blaster held by the twi’lek’s companion, a four-armed species with which he was unfamiliar. “May I?”

Having figured out the game finally, the guards and Dameron seemed to relax, the twi’lek with the bowcaster even grinning and firing a warning shot over Snoke’s head, murmuring something about a slippery trigger.

Over the next hour, they relieved the beast of multiple unnecessary organs, and Poe Dameron even grew bold enough to get creative, spearing one of the Hutt’s bulbous eyes with the tip of a spare electropike as he slouched unresponsively in his blood and fluid-filled prison.

“I think that’s enough,” Ben said, edging forward. He waved a hand, using the Force to shut down the upper laser bars so he could put his hand up to the monster’s head. Snoke grunted, trying and failing to move away from his grasp, spitting out his foul blood to splatter over the _drakkan’s_ bare skin. Poe Dameron hissed in sympathetic disgust, while the four-armed woman offered him a towel with her free hand.

He took the scrap of fabric with a free tentacle, nodding his thanks without moving his eyes from the single, bloodshot pale eye of the Hutt before him.

“One more time. The codes?”

“Leave me to die… You vicious monsters… Never was I so cruel to you...”

“Very well. I would have done it quickly, had you been forthcoming.” Almost gently, he laid a hand on the Hutt’s cheek. “Unfortunately, you made it quite clear your mind would be difficult to breach. So I’ve had to make it… easier. For me, anyway.”

Snoke blinked, and Ben could feel his mind racing, sense the way he struggled, even now, to find some way to save himself, to make himself more valuable alive than dead.

“I have friends… They will pay -”

“No.” He reached out for the guards blaster, angling it carefully towards the second-to-last, mightily-struggling oxygenating organ in the monster’s broken body. “Did you really think we’d let you live?”

“You won’t… find them…”

“Of course I will. You’ve been thinking about those codes nonstop for this entire time. It’s automatic at this point.” He fired once, holding Snoke’s body still with the Force to keep from making a critical miscalculation. “You see, _Monster_ … While your physiology is no doubt an evolutionary… wonder…” he couldn’t hide his smirk, and he could hear Dameron snort derisively as well, “...Your brain works exactly the same as every other sentient, oxygen-breathing creature. It takes a surprisingly long time to asphyxiate, did you know that? But during that time… Your brain is focused on breathing so entirely… It’s absolutely incapable of anything else.”

He tightened his hands around the Hutt’s grotesque neck, squeezing until he found the frail muscle and bone inside that held open the throat. “Even if you’re conscious the entire time… You simply cannot fight your instincts…”

He raised a tentacle to the back of Snoke’s head, closing his eyes lightly as he rifled through all of the creature’s thoughts in such a way as to maximize the amount of pain he experienced, furthering his mind’s frantic efforts to suck in oxygen and power vital functions.

He reached out behind him with a limb, snagging a stub of broken rock from the damaged bathroom walls, and scraped the numbers he saw and the significance of them into the floor behind him. He could sense something else in the Hutt’s mind, something dangerous for them all if they did not act immediately, but he couldn’t reach out to Rey or speak into the minds of those around him without losing his grip on Snoke.

So he settled for grabbing Dameron by one of his horns with a free limb and dragging him towards the door, using another to push him from behind and hoping he got the message across.

“Wow, yeah, alright buddy, I’m going, I’m going!”

“Hurry!” The twi’lek hissed. “He’s got friends coming, remember?”

Ben nearly slouched with relief, giving the guard a friendly pat on the arm in gratitude while the rest of him concentrated on actually and finally ending the monstrous demon before him.

“You were always going to die,” he whispered as he felt the creature’s lifeforce fading. “You should have just given the codes to Dameron. He would have shot you to death, nice and quick. Rey would have killed you cleanly, if only out of necessity. Humanoids don’t really have the strength to torture a beast such as yourself. I suppose that makes me a bit of a monster, after all, unfortunately for you.”

“I wouldn’t say that, Mr. Sea-Serpent Dude,” the four-armed guard said as she leaned over his shoulder to poke the very dead Hutt with the business end of her long-nosed blaster. “Unless you think we’re all monsters here.”

“Yeah, Dameron’s the one who thought of taking his eyes out,” the twi’lek added thoughtfully. “Although I’m sure we’ve all done some… unthinkable things here.”

“Yes. I’m sure we have.”

 

 

_Ben…? Are you alright?_

_Rey. I…_

_Come here, I have a surprise for you! Hurry!_

Without a backward glance, he left the two guards to their grisly discussion of whether or not the Hutt’s hide was big enough to hand out souvenirs to those who wanted them, and followed the warm glow of Rey’s Force-signature through the massive capital ship. Passing through the outer quarters, he noted Poe had jumped into hyperspace already, avoiding the other slavers who had answered Snoke’s call for help, but Rey was nowhere to be found.

“Hey, man -” the pilot approached him, but he shook his head.

“I have to find Rey, but we’ll talk later, Dameron. Did you reprogram the astrogation system?”

"Yeah, we're en route to Siltana now," Finn assured him. "Gonna be about fourty hours total trip."

“So did you kill him? Old man Snoke?” Poe pressed. At his nod, Poe and the others in the control room, including the togruta and Warrl, cheered in relief. Ben just waited impatiently for the horned man to notice him again.

"Rey?" He prompted.

“Oh, yeah, man, she went to the main cargo bay, I think.”

The devaronian gestured to a doorway and he went through it, moving through the ship as fast as he could manage, mostly by grabbing various door handles and scaffolding and bits of the ship’s interior that stuck out from the walls to pull himself along. Eventually, he made it into the cargo hold, but then he had to stop, because it was a wide, open expanse of slippery duracrete with nothing stable for him to pull himself along, and also because he could see Rey.

While he’d been busy extracting information from Snoke, his beautiful little cellmate had found a couple of large, round pieces of transparisteel and soldered them together. She had filled the bottom with sand, probably the same stuff they used to fill the bottom of his enclosure, but this tub was much larger and had the benefit of a lovely view of the stars flickering just beyond the plasma barrier that closed them off from open space.

Rey was sitting on the edge, changed into a clean pair of uniform bottoms and a fresh off-white breast band, her bare feet dangling in the sand as she watched water pour out from three separate hoses. She waved as he slowly made his way to her, moving along the wall until he could latch onto the tub and wrest himself over the side.

“What do you think? I know you need clean saltwater - I’ve got the pump from our cell, but it’s got to fill up first.” She had to shout over the sound of the hoses, and he moved closer to settle against the wall just below where her feet dangled. Rey nibbled at a hangnail nervously, looking down at him. “I just… couldn’t imagine you’d want to go back there… Ben? You hate it, don’t you?”

“What? Why would I - No, Rey -” He could sense her starting to gather her legs to flee and he reached up, capturing her feet in his hands. “It’s - It’s very nice, but I - I never expected you to - I mean…”

“Oh, is _that_ what it is?” To his utter shock, she shoved off from the edge of the tub, fully trusting him to catch her (which of course he did) and he carefully lowered her to her feet before him, where the water was just now reaching her knees. “You listen to me, Kylo - or Ben - whatever you want me to call you - _you_ made a promise to me when we first met. Surely you remember?”

He watched as she marched up to him, stomping through the water to poke a finger into his chest. “You said you would hold me, and mate with me, and take care of me, and that we would go home together!”

“You still want that, after -”

**_“YES!”_ **

He flinched, and Rey looked shocked.

“Say it again, I don’t think they heard you in the Outer Rim.”

“Shut it. Idiot.” Frowning, she looked down at her hand, then up at his chest, where some of Snoke’s gooey blue blood still flecked his skin. “What the _fuck_ is this?”

“Blood. I think.”

“You think?” Rey shook her head, wiping her hand on her water-logged trousers. “You are getting a _bath_ , just as soon as I get that filtering system up and running.”

He had no response to that, other than to grab her and pull her into a hug, ensuring said bath would definitely have to be shared.


	11. Catch and Release

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey allowed herself a private smile. It was beautiful, all warm tones of intricately carved coral and teakwood, with a fair number of sea-iron sculptures and large windows. But, the thing that made her love it most, she had noticed as soon as they closed in on the little harbor. There was a hidden structure built down into the water beneath. She could make out almost an entire floor of rooms, expertly crafted with a drakkan in mind, complete with an airlock for entering directly from the sea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing to see her, just some fluffy donesticity. I spent way too long trying to come up with their underwater love nest so I could break out some more smut in the next chapter. 
> 
> Gods bless my poor husband, who listened to me talk about Reylo tentacles and managed to helpfully suggest an airlock entrance with a straight face.

They left the ship in the hands of the other prisoners and enslaved crew, after Snoke’s officers had all been taken care of, although Ben had set aside time to quietly interview each and every person in private while Rey listened to their minds. With information gleaned from the surviving officers, they were able to locate Snoke’s primary distributors, and with help from Poe and Ben’s contacts, the local governments had shut down multiple communications centers and confiscated their recordings. 

Of course, there were still plenty of smaller companies and there was no way to eliminate  _ every _ copy of  _ every _ video, nor could they expect to receive such considerations in Hutt Space. But that didn’t stop many of those freed, with no homes to return to, from deciding to take the capital ship and search the galaxy on a mission of vengeance and destruction. Ben Solo made sure they had secure lines of funding, offering a bounty on every bit of evidence destroyed and every small-time skintrader apprehended, backed up by his family’s considerable wealth and his father’s somewhat unsavory connections in the criminal underworld.

He also made sure, during their interviews, that anyone who needed help, physically, emotionally or financially (and sometimes all three) was directed to organizations who specialized in that kind of care. Between Poe Dameron and a handful of other Rebel agents (and some kind-hearted scoundrels), buyers were found for all of the equipment and fittings they had no use for, the proceeds divided evenly by Ben and Rey, who took no share for themselves. 

Once they had done all that they could, and she was satisfied the other prisoners would be alright without their guidance, Rey had typed in the coordinates to Siltana, and waited rather nervously to discover her new home.

It was far more beautiful than she had imagined. Ben was not good at description, and his eyesight was too different for her to make out much from the images she picked up in his mind. From the  _ drakkan _ ’s eye, everything was dark, shades of blue and gray and deep green, but the planet Rey saw from space was blue and white, with puffs of pink clouds in the upper atmosphere.

She watched the transport descend from the windows of the cargo bay, where Ben lingered in the open pool of water maintained under her careful, exacting expertise. He had insisted a few days out of water would not harm him, but admitted under her piercing glare that he would be very uncomfortable, and Rey refused to let him suffer even slightly when she had been putting together working machines from scavenged parts her entire life. It only took a few hours to make a smaller version of his tub on Snoke’s ship for the transport, and it was worth it to see him relaxed and alert as they watched the beachside spaceport come into view.

A length of satiny flesh looped around her wrist, and she smiled, gripping it gently and idly caressing it with her thumb, without looking away from the approach. White sand and clear, silvery ocean, pink-tinged coves and vibrant floral landscapes flew under them as a growing warmth blossomed in her chest. 

For the first time in her life, Rey understood the complex feeling of  _ home _ , of a place where she could live in relative security, with her mate and her friends, a place where she could one day raise a family.

Warrl had insisted on coming with them, refusing Ben’s offer of payment although he accepted the very comfortable benefits that came with being the princess’s bodyguard. Kiba and Jykatha had no qualms accepting a stipend along with their room and board, although the Solos had offered to buy them passage anywhere in the galaxy when they were done visiting. They had both taken one look at the quaint, pristine little spaceport-villa where Poe landed their transport and decided they would happily extend their visit indefinitely, and Rey was grateful for the additional company.

After all, she couldn’t fault them. She was in love with the place before they even stepped foot on the worn wooden landing platform. Seeing her lover in the sunlight for the first time, he really was as stunning as his home, the pale skin of his upper body had a soft pearlescent glow, and his dark hair was shot through with hints of violet and indigo. Rey licked her lips, unconsciously clenching her thighs before Kiba gave a loud shriek from behind her, and the two sisters splashed past her into the deeper water, startling her from her hungry perusal of Ben.

_ Like what you see?  _ He gave her a teasing smirk, wrapping a limb around her wrist and drawing her out to him where the gentle waves lapped at her thighs.  _ You look beautiful in the sunlight. _

“All my life I’ve dreamed of an ocean,” she whispered when Ben asked what she thought of his home. “I never imagined I’d get to see something like this. I don’t know what to say.”

Siltana was truly a paradise, in every sense of the word. Soft, white sand had caved under her feet when she helped lower the ramp to reunite her lover with the sparkling sea, entirely different than the hard salt-sand of Jakku. The villa was lovely too, modern amenities built into hand-crafted structures of smooth tropical wood and carved coral. 

Sturdy transparent walls and windows were everywhere, as well as crystalline decorative works and public fixtures, all made of a substance called sea-iron, crafted in underwater factories that super-heated the white sand and hard, pink coral into liquid that could be shaped and dyed, the majority sold to manufacturers off planet. Bright silver sunlight glinted everywhere, making the entire villa look like a multi-colored ice sculpture.

Rey had been a little afraid of the waves, having heard stories of ferocious storms and raging waves from passing spacers, but the gentle slope of the main island made for a pleasant, soothing ebb and flow of water no higher than her waist.

The beach was busy, divided by the long pier that housed sea-trading vessels and the starships they did business with on one side, with room for leisure craft and fun-seekers on the other, but it was not crowded. Nor did there seem to be any animosity between the sides, everyone going about their day with kind words and a relaxed atmosphere. One got the feeling no one in this town was ever in a hurry to do anything, except perhaps when the missing prince of the Solo clan appeared in their waters and politely requested a vessel to carry his friends and mate to his family's estate.

“Wow,” Kiba said softly as their little boat came around the swell of a coconut grove and the stunning palace came into view. “Your boyfriend is rich as fuck.”

“Kiba!” Her sister warned sternly. 

Rey allowed herself a private smile. It was beautiful, all warm tones of intricately carved coral and teakwood, with a fair number of sea-iron sculptures and large windows. But, the thing that made her love it most, she had noticed as soon as they closed in on the little harbor. There was a hidden structure built down into the water beneath. She could make out almost an entire floor of rooms, expertly crafted with a  _ drakkan _ in mind, complete with an airlock for entering directly from the sea.

_ Ben… the palace… _

_ I can have it renovated if you don't like it. I know I said I'd build you your own, Padmè's palace is only temporary - _

Rey's heart skipped wildly in her chest.  _ This was… your grandmother’s palace? _

_ Yes. It's been kept up by a  _ shearl _ woman, a friend of my mother's. Will it bother you to stay there? _

_ No… Ben, no. It's perfect. I want to live here forever.  _ She found herself smiling, imagining the sounds of children playing on the beach and running through the big, open courtyards.  _ I want to raise our children here. I'm sure Padmè would have liked that. _

_ I’ll meet you inside.  _ She could sense him, moving through the water nearby, his pleasure at her words coloring his thoughts.  _ My family will be here very soon. _

Rey bit her lip, nodding blankly at whatever their boat captain was saying, eyes trained on the lovely carved wood and sea-iron of the palace. They were greeted at the dock by an older woman with deep indigo blue hair and startling red eyes, who came forward quickly to take Rey’s hands with a little bow. Warrl grumbled something about going to investigate the landscape, heading towards the grove of trees and leaving Jykatha and Kiba to accompany her inside.

“Hello, Rey. My name is Amilyn,” the  _ shearl _ woman greeted her warmly. “I am the caretaker and steward of Varykino. It’s my great pleasure to meet you, and I apologize for being so forward, but we don’t have much time before the prince's family arrives.” 

Her eyes lingered on Rey, looking her over appraisingly before she glanced at the togruta women, widening slightly as she made it to Poe. Finn had stayed at the villa, where his home and family were, promising to bring them out first thing in the morning. “I take it these are all your people?”

_ My people…  _ Rey laughed, but Jykatha answered before she could.

“Yes, we have come to serve Lady Rey. I don’t suppose you’ve got some more suitable clothes we could borrow?” She looked at Rey speculatively. “We’ve had a bit of an ordeal, all of us.”

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” She cast her eyes back and forth between the two women. “It’s just Ben’s family.”

“Yes, and they’re royalty, Rey!” Jykatha rolled her eyes. “You can’t go meet a queen in torn pants and a man’s shirt.”

Amilyn gave them both an understanding smile.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find something. The prince was kind enough to send word that you would be in need of a new wardrobe.” Her eyes traveled speculatively over Rey and the two togruta, and Rey did not miss those distinctive red irises. Or the sharply-pointed teeth she could see when Amilyn spoke. “Do any of you swim at all?”

“I do,” Rey replied quickly. “Kylo - ah, Ben taught me. I’m not certain how to deal with the waves,” she admitted, biting her lip. They were a bit larger and deeper here than they had been at the villa. “But he’ll help me, I’m sure.”

“Hmm. What a fascinating person you are, Lady Rey,” she murmured enigmatically, covering it up with a small smile. “If you will all follow me.”

The inside of the palace was as lovely as could be expected, although it had a dusty, disused scent lingering over the upper floors. The main hall where they entered towered up all the way to the roof, with a gorgeous crystal chandelier lit with some kind of ambient rosy gold lighting, showering the carved wooden furnishings in delicate shades of pink. 

On the wall before them was a large painting of a barefoot  _ shearl _ woman standing along the shore, windswept indigo curls topped with a sparkling silver tiara, in a sheer, dark violet dress that trailed in the sand. There was something sad and lonely about the way she peered out of the canvas, as if she were looking above and behind her audience.

“Ben Solo’s grandmother,” the steward explained.

“Padmè Amidala Skywalker,” Rey read the Aurebesh characters beneath the painting in a soft voice. “This was her home.”

“Wait a minute. That woman is the sea-monster’s -” Kiba began, yelping at a fierce jab in the ribs from her sister’s elbow. “Eh, sorry. But I mean…”

“For fuck's sake, Kiba!” Poe chastised, earning a startled glance from Amilyn. “Sorry, but why is everyone so shocked by that idea? They've explained it to Finn like a hundred times.”

“Really?” She tilted her head, sticking her tongue out as he and her sister both rolled their eyes. “Guess I missed it.”

“It’s possible,” Rey said, catching a sharp look from the listening  _ shearl _ woman. “And I might give birth to one of those ‘sea-monsters’ some day, so you will  _ not _ call them that. Ben may think it’s amusing, but that’s just his dark sense of humor. Their race is called  _ drakkan _ .”

“Stop being an idiot,” Jykatha grumbled, dragging her sister away from the painting to engage in a series of hissed whispers. “You're going to get us thrown out!”

Rey didn’t look, but she knew Amylin was watching her as she walked forward to view it more closely, glancing down to see something else propped up in a display case beneath it. Upon closer inspection, she saw very beautiful piece of art, pieces of bone-white driftwood arranged together in a circular wreath, with blue and red ribbons and golden wiring faded with age. She laid a hand on the case, carefully making out the familiar Aurebesh characters in a small line below the larger, foreign writing she assumed was Siltanese.

“'Offering to the sea by Shmi Skywalker,'” she murmured out loud, along with the date, almost a hundred years ago. “She must have been Anakin’s mother.”

“So you know the story, then?” Amylin Holdo asked in a carefully neutral tone.

“Some. Ben told me when we were… imprisoned. About his grandmother and grandfather.” She paused. “He didn’t tell me his great-grandmother was landfolk as well. I thought the offerings were made at Queen Amidala’s statue.”

“It’s possible he doesn’t know. This place has been empty since she passed away, although Leia pays well to keep it maintained.” She pressed her lips together, eyes scanning Rey again. “I suppose it’s paid off, finally.”

Before Rey could respond, there was thump and a crash, followed by a lot of cursing on the floor above them, and she followed the steward’s quick steps to find the sisters had discovered the library. The ever-curious Kiba had climbed on of the ladders to the higher shelves and fallen when she leaned over and it rolled with the motion on the little wheels at its base.

“I didn’t know it would do that!” She exclaimed apologetically.

“You can’t even read,” her sister said, crossing her arms and looking stern. “Stop snooping everywhere, this isn't pur house.”

“Sorry,” Rey whispered, but the older woman shook her head, appearing only mildly amused. “They’re really not that bad, I think we’re all just a bit over-excited.”

“Excited? To meet your fiance’s family? Surely the proper word would be anxious, or nervous.”

Rey frowned, nibbling a bit on her nail and following slowly as Amylin led the girls to what she referred to as the guest wing. When Jykatha tried to explain that they had come to  _ serve _ Rey and were not in any way proper ladies themselves, she had merely shrugged.

“Neither am I,” Rey said firmly, glancing to the quiet  _ shearl _ . “It doesn’t exactly seem like this place is going to run out of room anytime soon, either. Reinvent yourselves - no one has to know where you came from or who you were.”

Kiba giggled, opening doors under the mildly amused gaze of Amylin until she found a room with double beds, calling her sister over. Poe followed behind them at a lethargic pace, wincing visibly every time the younger girl made a high-pitched noise of discovery.

“It’s not strange for us to share a room, is it?” Jykatha asked carefully. The steward shrugged.

“As you will. We are not a judgmental people here. If you are more comfortable sleeping with your sister in the same room for companionship, that is perfectly understandable.” She glanced at Rey and raised an eyebrow. “Will you be staying up here as well, or would you prefer to be closer to the water?”

“Is there a…” Rey swallowed, trying to decide how to phrase it. 

Given everything that had happened in the past few weeks, she was already feeling fidgety without Ben close by. She could sense him if she tried, feel his amusement and delight as he reunited with his family and explained their situation in more detail, but she wanted to see him. To have his tentacles looped casually somewhere around her body, comforting her with his gentle strength.

Amylin gave her a rather more kind smile than she had thus far displayed, and Rey wondered what she had done to finally earn the woman’s sympathy.

“A room that you can share, perhaps? Where your mate can come to you with ease?”

“Yes!” She exhaled in relief, noticing the sisters exchanging a knowing glance. Jykatha nodded at her encouragingly.

“Go ahead and go to him, we’ll get ourselves sorted out and find our way down,” she offered. “This place isn’t  _ that _ big, I think we can find our way back to that entry hall.”

“You may dress in your room, if you like,” Amylin said with a nod. “Feel free to explore the other closets for any items or toiletries you may require, they should all be aired out. I will be back to check on you as soon as I get Lady Rey settled.”

“I'll just pick a room and relax, if you don't mind,” Poe said, eyeing Amilyn and then the retreating sisters. “I'm sure Ben's family will be more than entertained by those two. I'd rather not be a crowd, if that's alright?”

They all had their own wounds, each escaped slave coping as best they could under the circumstances, and Rey knew he grew uncomfortable around more than a handful of people. She laid a hand on his arm lightly, making to sure to catch his yellow eyes with hers.

“You do whatever you need to do, Poe. I'm sure you can meet Ben's parents later.”

  
  


It really didn’t take Amilyn long to show Rey around the luxury suite downstairs, accessed by a little elevator in an alcove near the kitchen and outdoor gardens. It was a large, open space, with a lounging area fitted with multiple forms of electronic entertainment (though Rey thought she’d never want to watch a holoprogram again in her life), a kitchenette equipped with recently-stocked cupboards and a cooler along with a basic cooker, a bedroom and study, both fitted with double-doors for access as well as privacy, the study boasting an unusual standing desk filled with calligraphy brushes.

Unlike the upstairs, the underwater apartment appeared to have been well-cleaned out and modernized, the floors swept and bathrooms wiped down very recently.

Rey noticed all of the flooring and walls outside of the carpeted bedroom featured frosted glass, with clear portals offering a mesmerizing view of the ocean depths around them, everything well-crafted and maintained. 

Including the airlock, which activated just as Amylin was explaining the service call buttons, telling Rey she was just a few taps away. The loud sound of water rushing in was frightening, until a soft blue glow set in around the inner doors and a mechanical voice informed her ‘ _ airlock engaged.’ _

They watched as Ben shook the water from his hair, raking his fingers through it and glaring impatiently as the water around him receded, slamming a limb over the button as soon as the faint glow of red inside the transparent box finally switched to green.

Rey rushed forward as he did, leaping up and trusting him to catch her, which he did, pulling her close and practically mauling her face off with hungry kisses. She buried her hands in his hair, trying to match his energy, both of them caught off-guard by the series of polite coughs in the room behind them.

Amilyn Holdo stood beside the elevator, red eyes full of warmth and amusement.

“Don’t mind me. I was asked to help Lady Rey find something suitable to wear when greeting your family, but I’ll leave you two alone if you’d rather. There are datapads in the bedroom and kitchen if you need anything else.” She turned, glancing back once to give them a sly wink. “Remember your mother will be at that door in just under an hour, Master Solo.”

“Amylin! Wait I…” Rey paused, searching for words as Ben slowly let her down to her feet. “Um… I’d like to talk to you… Later. I have some questions, I thought…” Oh, hell. How was she supposed to phrase it politely? “I’d like to ask you about… running the estate?”

“Indeed.” The steward shot a knowing glance at her mate. “I’ll see if you’re free for lunch tomorrow. We eat late here, it won’t be until afternoon, but perhaps you and your… friends upstairs would like to explore the village?”

“That would be wonderful, thank you!” She grinned, noting the approving glint in the woman's crimson irises. “Finn invited us to come meet his family, too.”

“Perfect.” She flashed them another warm smile before stepping into the elevator and closing the doors. “I look forward to it.”


	12. A Lot of Awkward Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “More?” Ben was watching her carefully when she opened her eyes to look at him, nodding with certainty. “Everywhere?”
> 
> “Please,” she whimpered, crying in ecstasy as he obliged, adding another inside of her and sending a third to tease beneath it. This was the first time they had coupled - had been alone to couple - since they’d taken over the starship. It was different, to do it purely for themselves, and Rey felt her heart swell with affection at his insistent questions, his need to ascertain her enthusiastic permission before he did more than touch her gently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut before, awkward convos with the parents after.
> 
> I find it strange that I have no issues with TentaKylo, but somehow the thought of wookies sexing it up totally squicks me out.
> 
> I wanted to keep it to 14 chapters, but there's epilogues...

Rey sighed contentedly as a familiar weight wrapped around her middle, drawing her backwards, while another slim appendage worked its way under the hem of her shirt.

“ _ Ben! _ ” She scolded, powerless to stop him from insistently tugging it over her head, or from ripping away the rest of her covering with impunity. “Your  _ mother _ is coming here!”

She gave him her best glare as he turned her in his grasp, drawing her in for another searing kiss, shoving his tongue into her mouth when she opened her lips to draw a breath to speak.

_ Ben! _

“We have an hour. Relax. I missed you.”

“It’s been…” She tried to catch a glimpse of one of the kitchen devices as he carried her down the hall to the bedroom. “Not even two hours since we landed.”

“You know what I mean. And you missed me, too. I can tell,” he smirked as he closed and locked the door, laying her gently in the middle of the huge four-poster bed. 

It moved strangely under her, and Rey cried out in surprise as she fought to climb up on her elbows. Her lovely mate chuckled. “The mattress is filled with seawater.”

“Why would you want a bed made of water?!” 

She struggled to gain traction as he positioned himself over her, deftly catching her ankles with his questing limbs and pulling them down and apart. Rey felt the dewy soft material of the comforter slide against her skin and sighed appreciatively, stroking her hand over it and completely ignoring Ben as he dragged his tongue up the inside of her thigh and down the other. “I like this, it’s so soft.”

“Palmsilk,” he explained. “Made from the fibers inside some of the trees that grow here.”

“Your home is… incredible, Ben. I never imagined such a place, not even in my…” She was panting slightly now, unable to pretend indifference to the way his tongue explored her. “...In my wildest dreams…”

“Tell me about your wildest dreams,” he murmured, his warm breath ghosting over her entrance as he flicked his tongue inside her.

“Oh, I… They’re not what you think, I’m afraid…”

“How do you know what I’m thinking of?” His tongue dragged slowly through her folds, flicking lightly at the apex before he went back to tracing her entrance again with the lightest of touches. “Tell me.”

“I used to dream of an ocean… I had a hard time getting to sleep. Sometimes I…”

“Yes?”

“I touched myself. With my fingers. To help me relax,” she admitted finally. “But I never… thought of anyone, in particular.”

“Mmm.” He pulled away from her, and Rey whimpered, hands fisting in the soft comforter as her body instinctively moved towards him. “Show me how you touch yourself.  I want to see.”

She shifted, spreading her thighs further, and the bed undulated with her movement, lifting her unintentionally as she reached down to circle her apex with her own fingers, flushing under his enthralled stare. When she slipped two down to thrust inside her, she inadvertently made to swift of a movement, penetrating further than she intended.

“Fuck, Ben! This thing is…” Rey struggled for purchase, laughing and moaning in the same breath. “It’s not easy to do this here.”

“You don’t like the bed?”

“I’m not sure, honestly…” She closed her eyes as he wrapped her in his limbs, holding her more firmly so he could take over, sliding his hand down to hold her wrist, fucking her with her own fingers while lowering his mouth to her slick pearl. 

“Oh, that… That feels so good.”

He kept his tongue there, sliding his own fingers down to join hers, shoving his thick digits into her alongside her own, and Rey whimpered. She couldn’t remember ever feeling his hands inside her, and she had to admit it was a different sensation. They were warm and hard and so much longer than hers, and he knew exactly where to stroke inside of her, seizing all of her attention. 

“Oh, Stars!”

_ Do you like my hand better? _

_ No - I - I don’t know. It’s different. _ She moaned as he thrust his fingers in and out of her with increasing speed, letting her reclaim her hand to fight the stupid mattress for the purchase to impale herself further.  _ I want you deeper than that. _

His eyes blazed as he looked up at her, drawing his mouth away and licking her wetness from his lips like a fine dessert.

“You want me deeper?”

“Yes.” Rey flushed, realising how different it felt to admit these things out loud when she could clearly see his reactions, and he could see her blush. “I want…  _ all _ of you.”

“You do?” He blinked at her, seeming somewhat surprised - pleasantly surprised - at her words. Rey nodded adamantly, rolling her eyes as the stupid mattress wobbled with the movement. Ben smiled. “I don't know if I can hold back, now that I have you on our terms. Are you sure you want… everything?”

“Of course I do.” She closed her eyes with a delighted moan as he slipped inside of her finally, one long limb filling her as far as she could take him, pressing against her in that familiar way that was almost painful. “Oh, yes… Just like that…”

“More?” Ben was watching her carefully when she opened her eyes to look at him, nodding with certainty. “Everywhere?”

“Please,” she whimpered, crying in ecstasy as he obliged, adding another inside of her and sending a third to tease beneath it. This was the first time they had coupled - had been  _ alone _ to couple - since they’d taken over the starship. It was different, to do it purely for themselves, and Rey felt her heart swell with affection at his insistent questions, his need to ascertain her enthusiastic permission before he did more than touch her gently.

_ Ben, _ she reached out to him, granting him entrance to her thoughts.  _ You don’t have to ask. I’ll tell you if I don’t like it, I promise. _

He peered at her with a narrowed gaze, his own mind blazing with desire, but uncertain how to ask for what he wanted. She could see it, in his mind, and she smiled, reaching out for him.

“Come here where I can reach you,” she ordered, running eager hands over his body as he complied, pressing kisses to his chest and muscular abdomen before delving beneath to find the hidden length she sought. He groaned when her hands grasped him, shifting his limbs so she could bring it to her mouth. 

“You can just ask, you know,” she giggled, looking up at the expression of wonder on his dear face. “‘Rey, will you touch my cock?’ ‘Put your mouth on me and swallow, Rey.’ Honestly, I don’t mind.”

“I don’t…” He cursed as she licked up and down his length, redoubling his efforts at penetrating her until she was distractedly gliding her hand up and down him with her eyes closed in pleasure. Ben inhaled sharply, and Rey kept her eyes closed, fighting to keep her sly smirk hidden. “Rey,” he managed a bit loudly. “Put your mouth on me. Please.”

“There, see?” She opened her eyes to bring her lips to him, kissing the ribbed head and swirling her tongue over the bead of fluid leaking from it. “I like the way you taste, too, you know.”

“I did not know that.” His stomach muscles flexed as he chuckled. “You are a very strange creature. I’m not sure I will ever cease to be amazed by you.”

“Good.” She applied her mouth around the top of him, languidly sucking at the drops of fluid as they came out, pausing when his movements on her body drove her to distraction.

“Are you…” He swallowed, Rey could sense the movement through his body. “Will you come soon, Rey?”

“I’m close.” He lifted another tentacle, applying a firm pressure over her pearl, curling the tip around it and eliciting a hoarse moan from her. “Oh, Stars! Yes, do that!”

The waves of pleasure that crested over her when she climaxed were almost too much, she had to reach a hand down to push him away as it faded quickly into overstimulation, and she laid back on the bed, panting and gathering her mind back together.

“Rey?” Ben reminded her gently.

“Right! Sorry - I mean  _ fuck _ , Ben - but,” he gave an appreciative moan as she turned to wrap her lips around him once more.  _ Fuck, that was good. Come for me? _

“Yes,” he mumbled distractedly as she worked her hands and mouth, sensing the flood rising in him, the way all his muscles suddenly went rigid. “ _ Rey!” _

She was prepared this time, gripping him steadily with both hands as she swallowed his spend, lapping at him until he softened and gently pulled away. Ben’s hands carded through her hair, gently combing it as they both enjoyed the post-coital bliss.

“I love you,” he whispered, as if too tired to say it with any volume. “I never thought you would… want to do that. Outside of…”

“Well, to be fair, I always thought it sounded fucking awful,” she laughed. “But, humans are a little different. Maybe I wouldn’t like it if you could fit it all the way back to my throat.”

“ _ What? _ Why would I do that? I would kill you!”

Rey shrugged. She didn’t really know either, but given the way the men at the cantina had cat-called her, it was something they enjoyed a lot. Then she registered the rest of what he’d said, and laughed out loud.

“Have you seen a humanoid -”

“No, why? I mean…” He was giving her a nervous look, now, and Rey wondered if she should show him.  _ If he knows how much bigger it is, I’ll never convince him to mate with me _ . Eyes wide as she realised he’d heard part of her thoughts, Rey grabbed for the datapad on the bed table, but she had two arms while he had thirteen and a half. It was simple matter of restraining her, then he claimed the device and tapped out a few searches while she watched, waiting.

“Oh.” He glanced from the pad to her several times before wordlessly holding it out for her to see what he’d found. Not that she really needed to. Drunk men seemed to think showing it off had some magical power of drawing her in, when in reality it did the exact opposite. Rey glanced over it and then turned the screen off.

“I’ve seen enough of them, thanks.” She tossed the pad to the otherside of the bed. “Well, Mister? Do we need to have an anatomy talk?”

“Yeah, we fucking do! Rey! Are you insane? I - You cannot do this, no. I won’t -”

“Oh, you won’t, hmm? Maybe I’ll just make my offering and see if there’s anyone else interested then.” She rolled her eyes, climbing out of the ridiculous bed and going to examine the bath.

“Rey! Don’t walk away from me!”

She really would have liked a nice bath before meeting his family, but she would be lucky to get in a quick shower, and she still had to find clothes…

“We don’t have time to play doctor now. But if it makes you feel better, we’ll wait until I’ve spoken to a medical droid fluent in human biology, alright?” She crossed her arms, waiting until he finally sighed, looking down at the floor before he gathered the courage to meet her gaze. “Alright, Ben?”

“Alright. But if -”

“We’ll figure it out. Now go find me some clothes, I have no idea what’s acceptable around here, and apparently I’m going to have to have some  _ very _ intimate talks with your mother, so I’d better make a good first impression.” She closed one side of the double doors to block out cold air, but left the other open for him. “Quickly, please!”

He might be silent as smoke in the water, but on the dry glass flooring, her sexy tentacle beast was noisy as a herd of luggabeasts. Rey listened to him huff and grumble around the bedroom, limbs squeaking across the hard surfaces, and keyed on the sonic shower. At least she was already naked.

 

Ben’s mother was nothing like she’d expected, although she could see immediately where he’d gotten that intense stare and thick hair, though hers was somewhat lighter than his, the streaks of blue more obvious in her graying braids. His father was a charming contradiction, brusque and grim at first, but bursting into peals of laughter when Rey answered some of his wife’s pressing questions.

“I’m not afraid of having his children,” she insisted, eyeing Ben warily. “But Ben is afraid of… the, um… of hurting me.”

“It most likely will, but you’re not a delicate core-dweller, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Leia looked up in surprise at her son’s scowl. “I will, of course, insist that you visit with the medic in the village beforehand. I’m sure you have questions, and Kaydel will have better answers than me. She had a human mother, and is herself married to a  _ drakkan _ .”

“Mother, listen to me -”

“Oh, shut up, kid. At least let her see the medic before you start getting all overprotective,” his father complained. “Come on, Rey, tell us about yourself. Where you from, sweetheart?”

_ Sweetheart? _ She smiled inwardly as Ben ducked his head in embarrassment.  _ No, don’t. It’s cute. _

“I’m… from nowhere, really. I suppose you’d say I was a slave,” she shrugged. “I know others who had it at lot worse than me, but -”

“A pleasure slave?” Leia asked. Rey frowned, and Ben gave his mother another dark look.

“So what if she was? She came here of her own free will. And if you’ll remember what I told you,  _ Mother _ ,” he continued scathingly, “I was a pleasure slave for a time, too.”

“If you’ll let me finish, you little smart-mouthed brat, I was once in a similar position  _ myself _ . I am not looking down my nose at either of you.” Leia rolled her ruby eyes and adjusted the straps of the dark-colored band of fabric that tastefully covered her chest. “Ben told me what happened to the Hutt and his minion. I simply wished to express my admiration for a job well-done, on both your accounts.”

Rey glanced up in surprise, meeting Leia’s gaze, and for a moment it didn’t matter what species they were, they were both women who had suffered at the hands of vile creeps and taken it upon themselves to get free.

“I killed the creature who captured me, as well,” Leia recounted. “In much the same way. Han was there, but he didn’t see it. My brother, Luke, infiltrated the criminal’s compound to rescue us. He faced and defeated our father, as well.”

“I wouldn’t give Luke too much credit,” Han put in. “It was mostly the Force that saved our asses.”

“Now you’re giving the Force too much credit,” Ben shook his head. “You never told me this story. Why not?”

“Well, honestly, Ben,” his mother shook her head. “It’s not exactly a story you want to tell your children…”

Rey smiled as he glanced over, wrapping her hand around the prodding appendage that brushed at her wrist, but she held her peace. In truth, she had planned to tell her children the story when they were old enough to appreciate it, but there were some parts Ben seemed eager to retell, and she saw nothing wrong with him telling the stories of how his warrior-mate destroyed the bad man with only her hands and a length of chain. 

The full details of what happened to Snoke, however… that could wait until they were old enough to also understand the meaning of being a pleasure slave.

The silence stretched, and Ben shifted uncomfortably, his mother and father exchanging rather meaningful looks.

“What will you tell your children?” Han asked finally.

“The truth,” Ben replied immediately. “As much of it as they can understand, obviously, and more as they get older. I’m not going to hide it like some shameful secret just so their friends can one day find some old holos and tease them at school.”

“Oh, son!” Leia looked horrified, although Rey supposed any mother would be horrified at the thought of those kinds of holos existing featuring her child as the star performer. “Is that possible?”

“We hope it won’t happen with both major distribution centers destroyed, but there’s no telling how many hard copies were made, and there are thousands of holochannels,” Rey said grimly. “We have to be prepared for the possibility. And I refuse to allow myself or my children to be shamed for it.”

“Good for you,” Han nodded approvingly, while Leia was giving them both a thoughtful look. “I always wanted to tell you, Ben. It’s a great story.”

“Why don’t you tell it then?”

Han’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “You know, I think I will.”

“Han!” Leia looked positively murderous.

“Oh, can it, woman. The boy’s been through hell, I’m sure he’ll understand.” He rolled his eyes. “We’re all adults here, right?”

Han gave them both another look, and had opened his mouth to begin, when a chime rang out from the direction of the elevator, and a little holoscreen popped up from the flat table beside Rey.

Kiba and Jykatha, along with a rather uncomfortable looking Warrl, waved from above, and Rey glanced at her in-laws, looking for acceptance before she granted her friends access.

“Um. Those are my friends, Kiba and Jykatha Solaris, and the wookie we saved -”

“A  _ wookie _ ?” Ben’s father leaned forward, eyeing Warrl excitedly, and she tilted her head in question to her lover. “You didn’t tell us that, Ben! We could have signaled Chewie, he’s out on business -”

“I’m pretty sure Warrl isn’t going anywhere,” Rey said reassuringly. “He seems to think he owes us his life.”

“Nah, that just means he likes you,” Han waved her explanation away.

_ What’s with your father and the wookie? _

_ My dad’s partner, Chewbacca. They’re attached at the hip, but Chewie doesn’t really like strangers, and I wasn’t sure… About Kiba and Jykatha… _

_ Ohhhh… _

“These people were slaves along with you? Performers?” Leia peered across at Rey, and she frowned, biting her lip. “The wookie was a -”

“Yes. They are adults who depended on each other in a difficult situation, as well as our friends, and you will treat them civilly -” Ben started, but surprisingly, Han waved away his explanation.

“They were imprisoned together. Like you and Rey.” Both nodded, and Han glanced back at the screen. “Well, let them in for kriff’s sake, we’re not assholes.”

Rey waited for Ben’s nod to press the key, unlocking the small elevator. There wasn’t room for all three of them, so Jykatha came down first, leaving Warrl and Kiba to follow her.

She bowed a bit clumsily to Leia, who smiled and welcomed her, but the so-called king stopped her with the gentlest brush of tentacle when she tried to repeat the gesture to him.

“Nah, none of that. I ain’t royalty, I just married a princess.” He winked at Rey, including her in the joke. “It has its perks, but the bowing I can do without.”

“I see.” The quieter togruta glanced around the room for a place to sit, and Rey quickly moved to perch on Ben’s lap, where he had settled on one of the long, wide benches placed around the periphery of the room.

“Here, Jykatha. You can have my chair, and Warrl and Kiba can sit on the couch.”

“Ahh, I know you,” the other woman laughed. “You just want an excuse to curl up in that pile of… arms…” she wiggled her own suggestively, and they both broke into a fit of giggles.

“He’s very warm,” Rey said with a shrug. “I get cold.”

“Yes, you’ve said that.”

“Is that all I am to you?” Ben teased as she settled against him, straddling one of the thicker limbs that merged with his waist. “Just a pile of wiggly-armed heat?”

“Get used to it, kid,” his father commented with a smirk. “Women are always cold. Even  _ drakkan _ women, who can regulate their body temperature voluntarily.”

“I’ve told you, males just have a higher body natural body temperature,” his wife chided. “It’s science, Han. Why expend my energy when all I have to do is reach out and wrap myself in my own personal heating coil?” 

Warrl and Kiba arrived in the middle of the conversation, immediately dispelling any awkwardness as the togruta complained about the cold under the ocean and climbed into the wookie’s lap, provoking a series of giggles and bellowing laughter from around the room.

_ “We were just speaking of how women are always cold,” _ Han said to the wookie in his own language, prompting Warrl to sit up with a shocked grunt. The king offered his hand in greeting, and he took it graciously.  _ “I’m Han. King Han, I guess. Welcome to Siltana.” _

_ “I thank you for your generosity,” _ the wookie replied solemnly.  _ “And I agree with your sentiment. Even on Kashyyyk, the females pile furs on top of their own.” _

Despite Rey’s fears, Ben’s parents really did seem to enjoy her company, and they gave every sign of approving of her as his mate, though Leia did take her aside to explain the entire process in minute detail. Then she dragged Rey to the kitchen and helped her find several bottles of wine and an assortment of glasses, showing her how to tell from the label which wine to serve to the  _ drakkan _ and which was safe for human consumption.

“It won’t necessarily kill you,” Leia explained as Rey eyed the dark, smokey-colored ink-wine. “But it can make you very sick, and it definitely packs a punch.”

Rey privately stole a kiss from Ben right after she watched him sip his drink, recoiling in disgust at the taste that was somehow even worse than the seaweed he’d forced her to eat. He chuckled as she swallowed several gulps of the fruity, yellow-gold palm wine in her own glass.

“That has got to be the worst thing I have ever tasted in my life,” she complained.

Of course, once Rey had made the proclamation, the others had to taste it to, Kiba recoiling at the first whiff, while Jykatha tentatively dipped the tip of her tongue into the tiny glass Han had poured for Warrl.

“Ugh. What’s it made out of?”

“Squid ink and seaweed,” Han replied, causing Rey to roll her eyes up at Ben. “My partner, Chewie, can handle a little on occasion, though it’s definitely an acquired taste.”

Warrl sipped it carefully, appearing to mull it over as they all watched, waiting for the wookie’s take on the strange drink. Gently, he replaced the glass on the table beside him, then gave himself a full-bodied shake.

_ “Tastes terrible, like rotten salt,”  _ he said in Shyriiwook, looking from Han to the sisters.  _ “My people would say, ‘good for funerals and weddings.’ Very strong and hits quick.” _

Han laughed out loud at that, and they spent another hour with Ben’s parents, discussing the merits and flaws of various beverages, while Leia peppered in questions about Rey’s skillset, what sort of things she enjoyed and was good at, and whether or not she intended to work after they had children.

“I’ve always wanted to explore the galaxy,” she answered truthfully. “Ben said his father runs a supply company, and I’m a good pilot, but I’m best at scrapping and repairing things.”

“Hmm. That’s an interesting conversation for another time, young lady,” Han acknowledged with a nod, before turning to Kiba and Jykatha. “What about you girls? Where are you from?”

“Oh, Snoke bought us from Nyarla,” Jykatha shrugged. “Before that, we worked for her on Tatooine. I dealt at the sabbac tables and worked as a translator, and Kiba -”

“Warmed up the beds of whoever Nyarla wanted information out of.” Leia gave her a sharp glance, but the younger togruta just shrugged. “We grew up there. It’s not so bad when it’s the only thing you know. She wasn’t cruel, the men weren’t allowed to hurt us, and her overseer listened if we said we didn’t want to see someone again. Jyka's smart, so she got lucky - Nylara taught her to read and run the tables so the house always came out on top.”

“If this Nyarla was such a benevolent master, why did she sell you to Snoke?” 

“Ah,” Jykatha gave Leia a knowing little smile. “This is where my sister and I have some disagreements. Nyarla was behind on her payments to another crime lord who sold her spice. I saw her records, I know how much she needed and what assets she had. There were a number of solutions that did not involve the sale of her slaves, but said slaves were also costing her money to clothe and feed, you see.”

Her sister shook her head. “You are determined to see the worst in the world!”

“It’s just capitalism -”

Very gently, Warrl lifted Kiba over to other side of the couch, effectively putting himself between the arguing togruta.

_ “We are guests here. You will not bicker like children, it is disgraceful.” _

“Fine,” Kiba hissed. Her sister said nothing, merely rolling her eyes and taking another sip of her drink.

They talked late into the evening, until Rey couldn’t hide yet another yawn, and Kiba had all but fallen asleep in Warrl’s furry lap.

“I can see you kids need your rest,” Leia said in a tone that did not encourage argument. “I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.”

Rey hugged them both, waving as Ben’s parents departed through the airlock shortly after their friends left through the elevator.

“Your mother is brilliant,” Rey said as he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the waterbed. She sighed heavily as he tucked her in, uncertain if she could sleep in the strangely-moving bed. The water sloshed from the other side, and she turned to see Ben settling himself against the cloth headboard, gently drawing her up against him. “Ohhh… I see. The waterbed is for you.”

She hadn’t noticed how soft the headboard was, or how overly large and round the entire piece of furniture was, until she saw Ben fold himself down into a comfortable sleeping position. Rey could not stop smiling as she snuggled against him, one hand twined around his neck as her fingers absently played in his hair.

“Why are you so happy?” He tipped her face up to look at him. “I thought you didn’t like it.”

“I like it much better now that you’re in it.”


	13. Rumors Spread Fast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If you think I'm scary, Prince Ben Solo is going to be a lot worse. Alright?”
> 
> “Uh, yeah.” The boy ducked his head, and Rey immediately felt guilty, wondering if she'd been too harsh. “But you should know, it's not just me. One of my friends swears he found a holo with a woman named Rey in it… I think he's lying, because he won't give anyone the link, but…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just getting this bit of plot out of the way so we can get to the, um, main event coming up ;-D

The village was lovely in the late morning sun, a fantastical confection of iced glass and bright coral, and the market square, just inland from the pier where their starship landed, was resplendent in sparkling golden banners. Rey was glad she had talked Amilyn into leaving a bit earlier, there was so much to look at, and they still had to visit Finn and meet with the village medic.

“Is it like this every day?” Jykatha queried their guide, as her sister darted around, eyeballing each stall and vendor with the easy delight of a child. Kiba’s excitement was infectious, even Amilyn smiled slightly, watching her.

“The first and fourth day of the week are market days,” she explained. “Of course, there are shops open for business on a regular basis, but on these days people gather from all over the islands.” She gestured at a shop selling beautifully-wrought sea-iron jewelry. “Haqim there is often sought-after for his work, even off-planet, and he’s very busy so it’s expensive to get a commission. But sometimes he brings a selection of flawed pieces, or orders that weren’t paid in full and the like, and sells them to us at a discount.”

She went on, pointing out other stalls and carts, describing the wares of the different vendors, but Rey was enraptured by the shining gemstones, wrapped in strong silver wire or set in muted colors of sea-iron. She had never been much for jewelry, on Jakku it would have been a foolish display of vanity, and all but advertised her to be accosted, but she had never seen anything so brilliant and beautiful.

“Like tamed stars,” she murmured, reaching out but not touching a pendant bearing a darkly-glowing, simple red stone. “This is incredible…”

“Ah. You have fine taste, my dear.”

Rey started, yanking her hands away from the merchandise as the quiet artisan came out of the shadowed canopy above his wares. He offered her a genuine smile, noticing her surprise and keeping his distance, though he had clearly seen where she was looking.

“An interesting find, that bit. May I tell you what it is?” His eyes were large and fully-obscured, like Finn’s and the other _shearl_ she had seen, but the membrane around them was milky and fluid, his shoulders hunched from years of work. Rey nodded eagerly, and the old man smiled. “It is a kyber crystal, the like of which the old Jedi used to power their laser weapons. Given to me in exchange for another project, by an unusually solemn off-worlder. Would you like to hold it?”

“Oh, I shouldn’t,” she protested, stepping back. “I don’t… I can’t really pay for something like that. It is beautiful, though.”

“Hmm.” He lifted the pendant from the hook, rolling it over speculatively in his palm, and his phlegmy eyes drifted over her with the same look. “Might I know your name, child? It’s been many a year since I met with an off-worlder in person.”

“It’s Rey,” she said, nodding in greeting. “Are you Haqim?”

“I am, yes. But how do you know of me?”

She gestured to where Amilyn and the two girls were examining fabrics at another stall, Warrl looming tall between them, where he could keep a close eye on Rey and the sisters. He warbled something low when he caught her motioning, lifting a paw to wave lethargically, clearly unenthused at the whole trip. Haqim chuckled.

“Ah, I see. You must have come in yesterday with the missing prince,” he guessed. “Will you be staying with us, or do you have a home somewhere out there amid the other bright jewels of the galaxy?”

“No,” she smiled, glancing around as it sunk in, “my home is here, with Ben.”

“Truly?” He chuckled at Rey’s firm nod. “Well, you are a very intriguing person, Lady Rey. Thank you for speaking with me. Hopefully, we will meet again soon.”

“I’m sure we will,” she promised. “Good luck with your sales today.”

 

When she rejoined the others, she noted Warrl had several bolts of cloth in his arms, a soft nude color of palmsilk, and a few lighter bolts in subtle patterns. She raised an eyebrow at Jykatha questioningly.

“The dresses in the palace are very nice, but they are not good for everyday wear,” the older togruta explained. “Lady Amilyn asked if we would like some traditional clothing tailored to our sizes, so we chose some practical things, I hope you don’t mind. I selected some for you, as well.”

“I don't mind at all.” She ran a hand over the silk, and then the other fabrics, surprised at the quality of the lighter-woven fabric. “I trust you to make appropriate choices.”

“Can’t we have a few pretty things?” Kiba complained. “What’s the point of coming here if we’re just getting a bunch of boring clothes -”

“There are closets full of pretty things at the palace,” Jykatha said sternly. “Lady Amilyn has already said she would have anything we liked tailored for us.”

“But… I just want something that’s _mine_ , you know?”

Rey glanced at their escort, wondering how exactly they had paid for the fabric, and if it would be appropriate for her to offer the togruta a gift.

“Surely we all deserve something small to remember our first day here?” She hazarded. “Nothing too extravagant, but -”

“I think our budget can accommodate a few baubles,” Amilyn agreed. “And, of course, Master Ben has ordered a stipend for both Jykatha and Kiba. Normally, that would be paid at the end of the month, when I receive my own pay, but it is not unreasonable to ask for a small advance. Especially when you arrived with nothing.”

“That’s right, we get _paid_ !” Kiba grinned, dancing and twirling in the street, and Warrl groaned as she grabbed his paw and tried to drag him into it. It worked about as well as trying to dance with a tree, but she happily spun around him instead. “I am getting something _pretty_ , Jyka, and you can’t stop me!”

Jykatha glanced at Rey, arms folded sternly over her chest, but her sister’s laughter combined with Warrl’s annoyed growls was too ridiculous not to inspire a few smiles.

“Get something for yourself, too,” Rey told her firmly. “I mean it. Kiba is right, we all deserve something nice.”

“I know…”

The togruta’s violet eyes widened, peering at something over Rey’s shoulder, and she turned to see an electronics booth, specialising in refurbished device. She made a little, eager noise, the most emotional Rey had ever seen her, and she grinned, taking the other woman’s arm.

“Come on, let’s go in!”

To her utter delight, Rey found a long length of piping, the sheared off end of a land vehicle's exhaust, which had a similar weight and feel to the staff she'd carried on Jakku. She talked Jykatha into purchasing a small, wrist-mounted scanning tool, and the two of them spent several minutes pouring over the shop's other offerings and chatting with the proprietress. By the time they left, Kiba had found herself a somewhat frivolous but charming little knife with a sea-iron hilt crafted in the shape of a conch shell and studded with tiny gemstones. It surprised Rey that she had chosen a weapon, as opposed to one of the lovely items of clothing displayed in nearby wincows, but she, too, had felt the need for security that could be carried on one's person. Even Jykatha's scanner had an emergency commlink and tracker.  


Purchases completed and the day half-over, Amilyn dutifully led them to the address Finn had given, all of them trudging up the narrow, cobblestone street to the little townhouse, cheerfully painted a bright blue, with pink coral accents and translucent pink sea-iron windows.

A small child, no more than a year of age toppled through the gate as they arrived, followed closely by a short, plump woman with long, straight blue-black hair and eyes crinkled with kindness.

“Thrace, don’t run in the street!” She scooped the boy into her arms just inches from colliding with Warrl’s furry shin, and her dark eyes flashed with interest as she looked up. And up. “Oh, by the depths! What in the world…”

Her head turned, taking in Amilyn first and then the rest of them, and her face brightened into a warm smile.

“You must be Rey!” Before Rey could respond, she had shifted her son to one hip and darted forward to hug her with one arm, moving on to hug Jykatha and Kiba as well. “Come in, come in, all of you.”

Obediently, they followed her into the little house, Warrl stooping nearly double to get through the door, into a cramped sitting room filled with sea-iron sculptures and children’s toys.

“Finn!” The young woman called up a flight of stairs. “We have guests!”

The was rattled as their old companion thundered down the stairs, enveloping Jykatha and Kiba and Rey in fierce hugs, before looking around a little disappointedly.

“Thanks for coming to see me,” he started, trying to mask his immediate response. “This is my wife, Rose, and our son, Thrace.”

Rose waved warmly from the kitchen, preparing a pot of caf while Finn picked up his son and motioned for them all to sit. His eyes flickered once again to the door, and Kiba appeared to take pity on him, unbothered by the awkwardness of bringing it up in front of his wife.

“Poe went with Ben and his father to dismantle the traps set by Snoke and Hux,” she explained. “Don’t worry, he said he’d come by as soon as he was done.”

“Oh, I… Uh, I mean, if he doesn’t want to…” Finn shifted his fidgeting son on his lap, trying to distract him with a keyring toy. “It’s good to see you all, too.”

Rose brought coffee to Rey and Jykatha, and a glass of some bright red fruit juice to Kiba. Amilyn had declined anything, but she offered to hold the infant while they talked, taking the toy from Finn and babbling nonsense as the boy cooed and drooled on her clothes.

“So where is Poe?” Finn’s wife asked pointedly, drawing a look of surprise from Rey. “I really want to meet him, don’t worry!”

“Apparently he’s out with the prince and King Han,” Finn repeated quickly. “But he’s going to come by… later?”

Rey nodded firmly, and both Finn and Rose looked relieved. They sat awkwardly for a few moments, sipping drinks and watching Amilyn play with the baby, until Jykatha asked about the sea-iron.

“Oh, yeah,” Rose smiled. “I made all of these. Not good enough to sell, but the practice is good for me, and it gives us interesting conversation pieces.”

“What do you mean, they're not good enough to sell?” Rey got to her feet, examining one piece that had caught her eye when they'd first come in, a beautifully detailed _drakkan_ woman with some sort of stringed instrument. “I'm sure there are plenty of places in the galaxy that would be happy to pay a lot of money for something like this.”

Rose had gotten up to look at it with her, leaving Finn to converse with the ever-curious Kiba about his work as an ocean ranger for the royal forces. She lifted the piece and held it out between them, fingers tracing the delicate indigo and violet curves.

“I never thought of selling anything off world,” she admitted. “There are a lot of artisans here, so competition is really fierce. I mostly make mundane, boring custom stuff like windows and countertops. It's not glamorous, but it pays the bills.”

“I have to admit, when Finn explained the process, it sounded fascinating,” she gushed, thinking Rose needed to hear it. “How do you get such a mix of coloring?”

“Oh, it's all the same dye, I make it from sea urchin and kelp, but when you blow it, the color spreads along with the glass, and it gets lighter.” She glanced shyly up at Rey. “Would you like to see? My shop is just down at the dock.”

“I'd love to, if we have time…” She turned to Amilyn with the inquiry in her eyes. “When will the medic be expecting us, do you think?”

“Hmm?” The older woman looked up, her irises a deep red in the dim light of the afternoon, gently disentangling the baby's fingers from her hair. “What time is it now?”

“Lunchtime,” Finn answered excitedly. “Let us treat you - no, Rey, I mean it, I've kind of been a jerk, and I'd appreciate the chance to make it up to you. Please say you will.”

“But you have a baby to take care of and…” She sighed, noting the stubborn frown on his wife's face. “Alright, I suppose we do have to eat.”

“Yes! Then we can stop at Kaydel's afterwards, it's on the way to my shop,” Rose beamed, taking her hand and leading her out the door with the others following at their own pace. It seemed no one on this planet understood the need for accurate time-keeping, or setting concrete meeting times, but they were a warm and friendly folk. “Kaydel is really sweet, but she's serious about her work, she'll take care of you. And you'll get to meet Milo and Snap, too!”

“Okay,” Rey smiled, letting Rose take over the rest of their day with a quiet amusement, charmed and pleased by her obvious attempts to foster a friendship. “But you have to come visit us sometime. Poe is there, and I'm sure Ben would love to meet you.”

“I'd love to meet him, too!” Rose giggled. “I always wanted to meet the Solos, they have a big party out at on their island every year for Midsummer, but Finn hates large crowds.”

“Well, you can just come with us next time,” Rey promised. Some delicious scent of baked goods and smoked meat wafted over them, and Rose chuckled at the loud growl her stomach gave. “I guess it has been a while since breakfast,” she said, laughing with her.

“Good, because Maz has the best fish and chips on the planet!” Rose grinned. “You'll love it, I promise!”

“As long as it's not seaweed.”

 

Lunch did not, in fact, include seaweed, and it was such a lovely experience, the food and the company, included the wizened little woman with large goggles enlarging her already round eyes. She was apparently good friends with King Han, although she laughed when anyone referred to him as a king.

“He's a scoundrel at heart, no matter who he married,” she insisted. “But a good scoundrel.”

They were so relaxed, enjoying their individual conversations and food, Rey almost missed the wookie entering from the sea-side doorway. If Warrl was huge, this creature was a mountain, and it was somewhat startling to see the tiny Maz cackle with delight and climb up on a table to hug him.

When he was done chatting with her, he turned towards their table, and Warrl barked a started curse.

“Warrl! Are you trying to hide behind Jyka?” Kiba snorted. “Because I don't think that's gonna work.”

“Are you alright?” The older girl asked more solemnly, turning in her chair to frown at him where he crouched behind her.

“Oh, there's another wookie!” Kiba exclaimed gleefully, bouncing to her feet, completely missing her own wookie's groan of fear.

Jykatha scowled at the approaching mountain, looking as if she fully intended to let Warrl hide behind her, however ridiculous it looked. Rey stood, too, taking a few steps to greet him before he could get all the way to their table.

“You must be Chewie,” she said, smiling. Small blue eyes, almost hidden by his thick pelt, dropped away from the other wookie and regarded her outstretched hand. “I'm Rey. It's lovely to meet you.”

_“I am pleased to meet you as well, little niece.”_ He took her hand, giving it a careful squeeze. _“Will you introduce your friends, as well?”_

He politely didn't stare at Warrl, though she could sense he was still curious. Respecting his feelings, though she wasn't sure exactly why he was so distressed by another of his species, she introduced everyone else first.

“And that's Kiba and her sister, Jykatha. They came with us from Snoke's menagerie.”

_“You were all prisoners there?”_

“Not prisoners,” Jykatha corrected. “Prisoners have rights. We were slaves.”

She crossed her arms, leveling a speculative stare at Chewie, but he only nodded his understanding.

_“I see._ ” His eyes lingered on Warrl, finally unable to put aside whatever curiosity he had. He gestured at the sisters without malice. _“You were paired together?”_

“Yes, we were,” Kiba shrugged, her usual enthusiasm dimmed. “And Warrl was kind to us, so don't you dare judge him!”

_“You do not wish to go home?”_ Warrl shook his head, rising slowly, still hunched slightly with one paw on Jykatha's shoulder. _“You're very young to support two mates on an unfamiliar planet.”_

_“No planet is familiar to me,”_ Warrl yowled sadly. _“My mother was a slave in an Imperial mine. I can adapt, as I always have.”_

“We were born into slavery, too” Jykatha added gently. But the young wookie cooed softly, looking down at her with a private expression. “This is the first place we set foot on as free people. And in case you haven't noticed, it's beautiful.”

The wookie nodded, looking up at Chewie hesitantly.

_“We have met with the queen and king. They are… not what I expected, but very kind.”_ Chewie made a loud, barking sort of sound, a wookie's approximation of laughing in amusement. _“I have permission to build, in the trees near the palace. We will make a home there, take in other lost ones, perhaps.”_

_“A noble goal. My family will certainly help you.”_

Jykatha and Kiba blinked at each other, then back at Chewie.

“Your family? You mean the Solos?” Kiba asked bluntly. He nodded, giving them both a respectul look.

_“Han is family before. My brother-in-spirit. His mate and her brother and son, are also family.”_ He tilted his head slightly, looking over Rey. “ _Now, Rey will be family. Her children, too.”_

“Wait a minute.” Jykatha glanced from Chewie to Warrl, a slow half-smile reaching her lips. “If Rey is Warrl's life-debt, and Ben is Chewie's nephew… I think the wookies just made us all family.”

“We are,” Rey agreed, beaming at them all. “And I like the idea of starting a home for… for others like us. Children who've been lost or sold or abandoned. I'll talk to Ben.”

_“Thank you,”_ Warrl groaned, one heavy paw ruffling her hair affectionately. He cocked his head to Chewie, gesturing at an empty chair. _“Will you join us?”_

_“For a short time,”_ the elder wookie agreed. _“I am sure we will be seeing each other often, when there is more time for talking.”_

“I'm sorry to interrupt,” Amilyn said in a soft beside Rey, “but we should really go on to Kaydel's now.”

“Right. Okay.” She glanced over everyone, happy to find their awkwardness from earlier had all but disappeared, as Kiba introduced Rose and Finn, and Chewie played gently with their baby. “I have to go, hopefully it won't be long, but please don't fall apart without me.”

“No worries, Rey.” Kiba gave her a thumbs up, while Jykatha was distracted by some intense speculation on shipping industries with Chewie. “Go work on giving us more babies to play with.”

Rey felt heat rise to her cheeks suddenly, and she ducked out after Amilyn before anyone could see. It was one thing to discuss it with Ben, or even his mother, but she didn't need everyone at the table knowing that level of information about her private life.

 

Kaydel turned out to be just as kind as the others had assured her, and after a quick, somewhat uncomfortable exam, she had her medical droid take a few samples for processing. While they waited, she sat Rey down in her office and invited her to ask questions, as many as she could think of.

“Ben is afraid he'll hurt me,” she explained after a moment of thought. “But his mother seems to think I'll be okay and…” She gestured at the medic and Amilyn sitting beside her. “Forgive me if I'm overstepping, but you're both obviously part _drakkan_ , so it must be possible.”

“Well, it does hurt,” Kaydel admitted. “But it's bearable, and it's only the one time. The bite hurt more, for me, but it varies. Once you're mated it's fine, and…” She blinked, a smile suddenly lightening her face. “Would you like to meet my son?”

“Sure!” Rey followed her out of the room, Amilyn close behind, until they reached a large door in the back of the little house, where Kaydel knocked tentatively.

“Milo? I have a patient here -”

The door opened seemingly by itself, letting them into a strange room, bisected in the middle, one half containing a desk like the one in Ben's study, bookshelves and a collection of electronic and acoustic musical equipment. The other was filled with open water, and a teenage _drakkan_ with rumpled purple hair and clever eyes regarded them thoughtfully.

“Are you Rey?” He asked immediately, moving closer. She nodded, and his eyes widened with interest. “Is it true you were… pleasures slaves? On a Hutt starship?”

“Milo!” Kaydel scowled. “I can't believe you thought it was appropriate to just ask that!”

“No, it's alright.” Rey sighed. She had hoped for some amount of privacy, but she knew this confrontation would be inevitable. “Yes, we were. Ben was kidnapped by a Hutt named Snoke, and I was bought to keep him company from a scrap lord on Jakku.” She narrowed her eyes. “I suspect you're aware that the prince is powerful in the Force?”

He nodded, and she closed her eyes, concentrating on one of the bookshelves. When Milo clapped and the women beside her gasped in awe, she opened her eyes and continued moving the book she'd focused on towards her until she had it in her hands.

“Now you know we both are. And we are both capable of other Force tricks, too. Like rifling through other people's minds. So if you ever get curious about any of those recordings, or bring up our unwilling servitude in an attempt to be manipulative or hurtful to anyone…” She crossed her arms, giving Milo a dark look. “If you think I'm scary, Prince Ben Solo is going to be a lot worse. Alright?”

“Uh, yeah.” The boy ducked his head, and Rey immediately felt guilty, wondering if she'd been too harsh. “But you should know, it's not just me. One of my friends swears he found a holo with a woman named Rey in it… I think he's lying, because he won't give anyone the link, but…”

“Which friend?” Kaydel pressed immediately. In the spirit of mothers everywhere, she seemed to have a good idea of the culprit already.

Milo sighed, defeated, and obediently named several classmates who might be involved in the rumor. “Just don't tell them who told you, please?”

“Oh, no, Milo.” Rey made sure to catch his eye so he could see she meant it. “I promise, your name will never come up.”

“Thank you!” He said in eager reply. “Thank you, Lady Rey. I’m… sorry for being rude, I just… really wanted to hear about your escape. My friend said his dad was there when the prince was telling King Han his story, and you strangled a guy with your chains -”

“That's true.”

“You're joking, surely,” Amilyn said in disbelief.

“No,” Rey shook her head. “His name was Hux and he was a vile waste of human flesh. They had me bolted to the wall at first, but when they figured out I was uh… not scared of Ben… they unbolted it, but left the chain. We hid it at bottom of Ben's pool for weeks.”

“That's -”

“Super cool!” Milo splashed some of his limbs excitedly, drawing a long-suffering sigh from his mother. “Did you cut off his hand with your teeth, too? Are you really gonna marry Ben Solo?”

“Alright, Milo, that's enough,” Kaydel rolled her eyes. “I'm sure Lady Rey has other things to do -”

“Oh, I don't mind! But we do have some other promises to keep. Maybe I'll come by another time?” She winked at the boy, who gaped in astonishment. “I could bring Ben.”

“Holy shit, that would be so awesome!”

“Milo! Watch your mouth, son, or you'll be spending their visit confined to your room,” she shook her head, but the medic was smiling.

“Thanks for talking to me, Rey!”

“My pleasure!”

She laughed as Kaydel shut the door firmly behind them.

“Sorry -” She started, but Rey cut her off.

“No, it's alright, he seems like a good kid. Teenagers are the same everywhere, I guess.” She paused, tilting her head thoughtfully. “I'm not much older than him myself.”

“Well, don't be surprised if they start a fan club, I know he'll be squawking all about it to his friends tomorrow.” She grimaced. “There's one boy... I really don't like him, but what can you do?”

“Perhaps tell your son that particular friend is not welcome in your home?” Amilyn suggested.

“I already have. Thankfully he's landfolk and his family lives up the hill, so Milo can't go over there.” The older woman nodded her approval, and Kaydel sighed again. “But, I can't stop them from talking at school.”

“They're going to talk,” Rey said, drawing both women's sharp gazes. “We can't stop it. All we can do is hold ourselves above it and try not to respond to any ugly comments.”

“How did you get you so wise for your age?” Kaydel asked wonderingly. “I heard you say you were a slave before. On Jakku?”

“I had to take care of myself from a young age,” Rey confirmed. “I never got to be a child, really.”

“But you want to be a parent?”

“I want a family… I don't care what they look like. I love Ben, and his parents are kind, and this is a wonderful place to live. Even if everyone knows I was a slave who got lucky.”

“Well, let's go look at your test results, shall we?”

 

Rey didn't get a full breath in until they were walking down to Rose's shop, her mind reeling, pamphlets and flimsies stuffed in her satchel to pour over when she got home. The lady _shearl's_ shop was fascinating, but Rey felt herself only giving it her partial attention, too caught up in her thoughts to remember everything she was told.

“Come back soon and I'll show you how to work it,” Rose suggested. “You have to be fully present, or I'd do it now.”

“I'm sorry, it's been… a busy day,” she sighed, exhausted and exhilarated at the same time, and squeezed Rose's hand in gratitude for her understanding. “I would like to see you work, really, I swear! I'll come back as soon as I can.”

“Of course! You're welcome here anytime, Rey!”

Rose's eyes crinkled with a truly warm smile, and she returned it, reluctantly saying her goodbyes so they could get back to the estate before nightfall. As planned, Poe met them at the dock, handing over the steering to Amilyn before heading up the hill, scrubbing a hand through his dark hair nervously.

“Don't worry, Poe,” Kiba encouraged with a light hand on his arm. “Rose is super sweet. And really wants to meet you.”

“Okay,” he nodded, shoulders relaxing slightly. “Okay.”

“Come on, kids,” Rey peered out over the water, sensing Ben and suddenly aching to be at his side. “Let's go _home_.”

Warrl gave a warbling agreement, guiding Kiba before him onto the boat. Jykatha glanced at her sister and the wookie, an unintentional smile lightening in her eyes.

“Yes. Home.”


	14. The Fuckening (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had only been a few months, and already Rey felt as if her life here was impossibly, wonderfully full. Amilyn had quietly offered her tea for tonight after Kaydel left her with the implant safely removed, suggesting that perhaps they’d prefer to wait awhile before trying for children, but she had politely declined. Truthfully, she couldn’t wait to have them and explore this beautiful planet from the eyes of a child, and she fully intended to make Ben fuck her every night, if possible, in order to achieve it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the filthiest thing I've ever written in my life... I hope you filthy people enjoy it as much as I did ;)

Rey clutched the rounded bundle of driftwood and seagrass tightly, fingers smoothing over the little trinkets she had so carefully braided into it. Once Amilyn had explained how important these were, and showed her the hauntingly half-finished piece stored away in Padmè Amidala’s attic, she had gone immediately to Jykatha and Kiba for help putting it together. She would have liked to have more time with it, but the festival was only a month away when Kaydel finally gave them the all clear, and she didn’t know if she or Ben could wait a whole year for the next one.

She had waited until the sun began to set, preferring the look of the snowy moon sparkling off the flecks of glass and metal in the pale branches. Bits of lightweight chain wound around the top, from which she’d attached two sea-iron pieces she’d made herself, a simple, curving line of deep blue, suggestive of sinuous limbs or breaking waves, and a yellow sunburst with flecks of gold. Yards of black and gold ribbon wrapped everything securely, holding the branches together along with cleverly-hidden pieces of wire and some of those green undersea plants she so loathed, and she had added other things here and there. A piece of lace from the dress she’d worn when she first met his family, another from the night-dress he had ripped from her the second night they were home, braided cording from the uniform she’d taken from Hux’s corpse, the first perfect conch shell he’d brought to her as a courting gift, and dried husks of the sweet, tart fruit Ben kept stocked in their kitchen after she admitted she'd never had fresh fruit before.

It had only been a few months, and already Rey felt as if her life here was impossibly, wonderfully full. Amilyn had quietly offered her tea for tonight after Kaydel left her with the implant safely removed, suggesting that perhaps they’d prefer to wait awhile before trying for children, but she had politely declined. Truthfully, she couldn’t wait to have them and explore this beautiful planet from the eyes of a child, and she fully intended to make Ben fuck her every night, if possible, in order to achieve it.

Rey flushed at the thought, glancing nervously out at the darkened waters as she made her way to the statue and laid her precious wreath at its feet. The kindly gaze of Ben’s grandmother seemed to offer her a special, secret smile as she looked up at it, before dashing away from the waves that were already up to her knees. Aside from her, there were two other women peering anxiously into the crashing waves, their own offerings already bobbing up and down with the water, not quite pulled free of the statue’s feet. One gave her a hesitant smile as she stepped back, but they waited silently and alone, noticing each other only when the waves crept inward and the first wreath broke away, bobbing back along the water and slowly making its way out of the cove.

Rey didn’t see what happened to it or its owner, as hers was picked up just after, and she held her hands over her mouth as she watched it, praying it didn’t break apart amid the striking waves. Suddenly it disappeared, yanked down into the crashing sea, and she nearly swallowed her tongue in fear as it seemed too soon, the sparkling glass and shining metal simply gone from one wave to the next. 

_ Rey… _

Her eyes wide, she searched the beach in vain, lacking the darkness-piercing vision of the native peoples, but she didn’t need to see him. With a deep breath, she stepped out into the water, barefoot, the sheer silk robe Leia had given her clutched tightly around her otherwise naked body. 

A gasp left her at the familiar but somehow still shocking touch on the back of her leg, and in a single shrug she had freed herself from the robe, reaching down and gripping the arm that touched her before diving under the next wave. It was dizzying, to be sure, but Rey had no fear that he would let her down, holding tightly as he drew her out - far out. Long past the breakers, past the sheltering arms of the shallow cove, and when she surfaced and looked back even the statue of Queen Amidala looked smaller. She might have panicked, if she had not been wrapped loosely in a mass of writhing limbs, yanked through the water until he surfaced before her, her lovingly-crafted offering draped foolishly around his neck.

“You’re ridiculous,” she grinned as he claimed a kiss.

“You’re beautiful,” he countered quickly. His hands brushed affectionately over the piece of art around his neck. “This is beautiful, as well. Why shouldn’t I wear it?”

“If you want jewelry…” She paused. Leia had mentioned it was tradition to give each other a lasting token, if the match was deemed successful, and she had known it was his the moment she spied Haqim in the market again, but she had meant to give it to him later. “I have a better present for you at home. If you want to…” She shrugged. “I gave Jykatha and Kiba the night off. They’re staying in the villa with Poe and Finn. It’s just Warrl tonight, and he knows better than to go wandering below.”

“Ah, I see.”

“If you want to. I know it’s not very exciting, but frankly I’d like to have our own bed. I think we’ve had  _ plenty _ of excitement for at least a while and -” One of his limbs silenced her, sliding firmly around her mouth. Impishly, she slipped her tongue out, tasting his warm, salty skin, and he trembled slightly.

“I will do my best to get back there, but you must behave until then,” he admonished, giving her a dark look. “You don’t know how much… I’ve waited so long, Rey. You’re my mate. It’s unnatural. My whole body - my entire being aches for you.”

“Oh, Ben.” She placed a gentle kiss to his appendage as it left her lips. “I promise, I’ll be good.”

“Good.” His limbs slid around, arranging her behind him, and she wrapped her arms obediently around his neck, securing the wreath as well. “Hold on tight, love.”

  
  


As soon as the outer doors were engaged, Ben slammed a limb across the airlock activation, lifting her up so she could surface as soon as the water started draining. It wasn’t a long time, but the possibility of being locked underwater if something malfunctioned had caused her a brief few seconds of panic, and he had sensed it through the Force immediately.

With her lungs full of precious, delicious air again, she felt almost silly. Of course, Ben would never risk any harm coming to her. Her prince had bent  _ durasteel _ , for fuck’s sake.

_ I’d sooner tear this building apart room by room then let you drown, _ he echoed her thoughts.

“I know. Forgive me, it’s just instinct.” She brushed delicate fingers over the sensitive skin just below his jaw and ears, where his gills for breathing underwater were currently sealed shut. “Will I really… grow these things? Your mother said once I’m pregnant, we’ll know if it’s going to be a sea-goer if I start feeling an ache in my throat.”

He placed his own hand along the same place on her body, thumb tracing gently over the curve of her jaw, and smiled warmly.

“I love hearing how eager you are to start our family. Don’t worry. If it doesn’t happen the first time, I’ll just have to fuck you until it does.”

“Good!” She watched wide-eyed as his pupils grew dark, all but occluding those faintly glowing red irises, and moaned as he pulled her in for a hungry kiss. His mouth moved down her neck, teeth scraping the column of her throat, on to suck bruises into her shoulder and clavicle. 

_ Kriff, you’re so wild tonight. _

“Yes, I am.” But he drew back suddenly, tipping her face up to his to peer searchingly into her eyes. “Rey, I can’t stress enough, this is not going to be easy for you. I will do everything in my power to make it as good as I can, but it’s going to hurt no matter how much I wish it didn’t, and stopping once I’ve started will be… harmful, for both of us.”

“Do you…” He was so hesitant, and she couldn't understand it, until it occurred to her that maybe there was reason he had been somewhat distant in the past week. “Do you not want to? Ben?”

After everything, maybe he really didn’t want her, maybe that’s why she’d seen less of him lately, or maybe his family didn’t want her, or - “I don't want you to feel obligated if you’ve… changed your mind -”

Suddenly he was all over her, more desperate and feral than she’d ever felt him, shoving his tongue down her throat when he kissed her, grabbing her breasts in a punishing grip, sinuous limbs winding around her thighs and pulling her legs apart to secure them around his waist. He didn’t even bother bringing her out of the airlock, his customary pattern of two tentacles shoving roughly inside of her without so much as a warning.

“Oh, Gods, Ben!” She threw her head back against the transparent wall, dimly recognizing the beautiful view of the sea surrounding them, before he moved within her in that sinful rhythm and she closed her eyes as pure pleasure overwhelmed her. “Fuck!”

“I want you, Rey,” he growled against her ear, “I took your offering, didn't I? I brought you here, to  _ our _ house. You're  _ mine _ , and I will mate you -”

“Then do it!”

She was pinned beneath him on the floor now, sliding down the wall as he released her, and he posed her as he liked, widening her legs and pushing her thighs down into her chest to be held there under the weight of his limbs. More wound around her wrists, pulling them up over her head, forcing her spine to arch and exposing her breasts to the cool air. She had never felt so open, so violently taken, even while they were prisoners, and she could not believe how much her body responded to such rough treatment. The surge of heat through her limbs was almost painful. 

Ben’s warm hand dipped down to coat his thumb in the wetness that gushed from her entrance, and she heard his appreciative grunt and forced one eye open, watching him lick her taste from his finger.

“So wet. Do you like it when I'm rough with you?” Rey nodded in response, lifting her hips encouragingly under his touch, and he smirked at the sound of her ragged breath. “Beg, sweetheart. Beg me to make you come.”

“Please…” This, at least, was familiar territory. “Oh, please, Ben. I need you...”

“Where? I’m already inside you.” She opened her eyes again, giving him a dark look, but he simply smirked down at her. “Say it, Rey.”

“Everywhere. Fuck me  _ everywhere _ .”

“Good girl,” he praised, regarding her with satisfaction. His eyes locked onto hers, and he seemed to cherish every breathy moan she made while he entered her below, pushing in until she squirmed uncomfortably. “That’s it, let me hear you.”

He bent over again, sucking her nipple into his warm mouth, and with barely a moment of him lavving his soft tongue over the sensitive peak, she came hard, screaming out her pleasure as the waves of ecstasy surged through her.

He was still moving within her when she came back to herself, though he had eased a little. “Good?”

“Yes. Very good.” She laughed. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He glanced downwards thoughtfully, and the limbs within her pressed further, writhing and stretching her until she gasped and stiffened in pain. Ben froze, maintaining the depth without moving, watching her carefully. “Relax, sweetheart. Adjust if you need to.”

Forcing herself to breathe, she wriggled under him, finding once she moved a little on her own the stretch was much more tolerable. Biting her lip, Rey looked up and nodded for him to go on.

“Just breathe.” He shifted, stretching her again, but she tried not to let panic guide her, slowly forcing air in and out of her lungs with a soft groan. “Look at you. You’re doing so well...”

He spoke as if he couldn’t believe it himself, and Rey’s eyes widened as she saw the heavy, thick tentacles stuffing her, nearly up to their full circumference. She looked back up at him questioningly. Surely he wasn’t much larger than that!

“You still have to fit around my knot as well,” he explained gently. “Just a little more, sweetheart, and then I’ll make it up to you.”

“Okay.” She could manage a little more. The information Kaydel had given her made it clear her body would cope, she just had to be patient. Still, after all the things she’d read, what she really wasn’t prepared for was how  _ slow _ this part would be, and she shared her frustration. “I want you in me _ now, _ Ben.”

“Shhh. I promise, it’ll be soon.” He tried to look stern, but she could see the smile tugging at the corners of that generous mouth.

“When did you become a paragon of patience?” Rey growled, wriggling her body again, trying to break free of his hold on her wrists. “You could at least move, or let me touch you or something.”

“Oh, I don’t think I will. I like seeing you this way. Furiously demanding my cock.” He dipped down to place a kiss on her forehead and cheeks, but ducked away when she tried to get a more solid one from him. “It’s charming, really.”

“You’re a monster.”

“What does that make you, then?” 

He lowered his head before she could answer, kissing and nibbling on her neck, lazily dragging his mouth down her sprawled torso, capturing one nipple and then the other in gentle sucks. Rey moaned, moving of her own accord, seeking actual friction between her legs, and she let out a low, filthy cry when her body flexed around all of him inside of her.

A rush of moisture trickled from her impossibly stretched entrance, and she gasped as her own movements brought him deeper.

“Oh!” She closed her eyes, trembling, and so she didn’t see him lower his mouth even further until his lips wrapped around her swollen nub and she sobbed with pleasure. “Oh, Ben. Oh, fuck yes!”

_ Yes? _

Silently, she opened her mind to him, letting him see the warm glow of pleasure and desire at the front of her thoughts, how even now she looked forward to feeling him take her. How wonderful his mouth felt, especially when he sucked so wickedly at her breasts and clit. How she had no words to describe it, had never imagined this kind of connection was even possible.

She screamed again when he brought her to a second, trembling, mind-shattering climax, as she clenched and gushed around the tentacles that writhed inside of her, pulsing almost painfully with each aftershock. The withdrawal of his limbs had her whining pitifully, until he silenced her with a devouring kiss.

_ Hush. I have something better. _

_ Oh. Right. _

He kept his mouth slanted over hers, stealing her breath as he slowly pressed in again, muffling her cries as the head firmly breached her. It felt different from his other limbs, the ridges beneath the rounded top providing more stimulation all the way up as he thrust once, cautiously. She winced, overwhelmed with the intensity, pleasure and pain both warring within her, and he slipped his mind into hers as he penetrated her further.

_ Oh, Rey, you feel… exquisite… _

Gasps tore from her as she felt the sensation and emotion on his end, the incredible physical feelings as well as the emotional satisfaction of finally, finally making her his mate. She hadn’t realised how much it had pained him  _ physically _ , how difficult it had been for him to find someone he wanted, who wanted him, and be unable to complete the bonding. Now, at last, a part of his mind that had been on fire for the last three months had finally been appeased, the base animal need fulfilled.

“I can’t believe you’re letting me do this…” He purred. “Gods, Rey! You saved my life.”

“You saved me, too, if I recall.” She smiled warmly, wishing he would let go of her hands so she could touch him, find the stubby end of the limb he'd sacrificed in exchange for her life. “Ben. Look at me.”

He did, his eyes finding hers, and his expression registered astonishment at whatever he found there. Irritably, she wiggled her wrist, and he finally let her go, sensing her need to touch and hold him. Her hands cupped his face and threaded into his hair, and she pulled him in for a deep, fierce kiss. 

“Are you okay?” He looked her over carefully, and his serrated teeth glinted in his smile when she nodded, sliding one hand down from his neck to dig her nails into his shoulder. He hissed, pupils growing wide and dark at the prick of her nails. 

“Yesss… claw me up, bite me, pull my hair if you need to - don’t be afraid. Mating among _drakkan_ is meant to be… rough.”

“I'm aware. I’ve done my research.” She shifted, dragging herself up his chest and clinging to him, her head nuzzled into his neck, breathing him in. Her lips brushed his skin, tongue tracing it lightly before she gave a sharp nip. He shivered delicately, and Rey grinned, doing it again and feeling his chest rise and fall beneath her hand. “Thoroughly.”

“Rey…” He took a deep breath. “Tell me when you’re ready for me to move.”

She closed her eyes at the low, hoarse tone of need in his voice, remembering that niggling voice she had seen before, demanding that he  _ take _ her in no uncertain terms. The image of his thick seed filling her, his member swelling to hold it in as he came and came, was so filthy and erotic, she clenched a little at the thought. Hands claiming a firm grip with the fingers of one wound tightly in his wet hair, she met his waiting gaze and nodded.

“Don’t hold back. Fuck me and bite me and…  _ fill _ me,” she demanded. “I want it. I want to be your mate, I want your baby, everything.”

  
  


Ben could hardly believe the words as he scanned her face, noting how her breath came unevenly, her hands slid over his body, seeking purchase as she tried to regain some control, to brace herself against him.

“Rey,” he gasped in warning, holding on by a fraying thread. Her body tightened around him, and she buried her face in his shoulder.

“Okay,” she assented in a soft whisper. “Ben, it’s okay -”

He had done his own research, once Rey's tests had come back and Kaydel had gone over every point, speaking quietly to other  _ drakkan _ with landfolk mates, perusing information on the Holonet and raiding the palace library with Jykatha's help. Ben Solo was a quick study, and he knew quite a bit about human biology now. He also knew Rey - what she liked, how to bring her to climax in a dozen different ways, how to tell from the way she quivered around his limbs that she was close. But having his most sensitive part buried inside her small body, so hot and tight and slick, was nothing like penetrating her in any other way.

_ Yes. Mine. Mate. Breed. Mine. _

_ Mine. _ Sharp little teeth nipped his flesh again, and he almost laughed at Rey’s response to his mind’s instinctive prattle.

_ So eager _ , he thought as he began to move, holding her close, every limb wrapped firmly around her, keeping her still while his thick length surged in and out of her. Rey whined, her teeth drawing blood at his neck, and he reached out to her mind, finding her tense and overwhelmed. At first he worried he was too much, but he had filled her without injury, and that was the most dangerous part, aside from the bite he would give her later.

“Easy, Rey,” he chided as she wriggled in his grip. “I need you to be still.”

“Fuck,” she hissed, and he sensed her closing her eyes, the taught muscles in her legs and arms easing, though she still nipped and worried at his skin with her teeth. It seemed to help her to be able to bite down, and he was happy to let her - what he was doing to her was unpleasant enough, he didn't really care how hard she bit him.

“No,” she mumbled. “Ben… it’s not… unpleasant. Trust me, it’s not.”

He paused, turning his head to find her lust-darkened eyes gazing up at him with a burning affection. Rey whined, a soft, insistent noise rising in her throat, and he realised she was trying to chase his slow rhythm with her hips.

“M-more…” She whined. “I can take it, Ben, please.” 

He opened his mouth and she  _ growled _ , fingernails gouging his back, heels digging painfully into his lower body. “If you ask me  _ one more time _ if I am okay, or if I’m certain, I am going to hold you down with the fucking Force and pleasure myself as I please with your massive… thing…” She gripped his hair to keep him from looking away. “Just  _ fuck me _ , you giant, stupid sea-monster!”

Not trusting himself to speak, he met her fierce scowl and just... nodded. Then he shifted her in his grip, turning her so he had her back pressed to his chest, and dropped his hands down over her exposed body, one pinching and rolling her nipple while the other reached between her thighs. Instinct drove him to thrust hard and deep, holding her firmly with his mass of limbs wound all around her body, stroking and squeezing possessively.

“Oh! Oh, fuck!” 

Rey threw her head back against him, eyes closed in pleasure, and he groaned, watching her. He could see where she was split open around him, impossibly stretched over a width nearly the size of her spread thighs, and her swollen, exposed flesh above it. He brushed it gently with his thumb as he thrust roughly into her, lifting and pulling her body together with his movements. 

“Gods, Ben…” She was sobbing, her chest heaving as she fought for breath, and he dropped his mouth to her neck and sucked at her skin. “Yes, bite me, please! I’m yours… I…”

“Soon,” he promised in her ear. "Be good for me a little longer."

Strong hands grabbed at the limbs that held her and digging in as her breath slowed, and he could feel her fighting to relax, her eyes closing until he prodded at her lips with the slender end of a limb.

“Alright,” she mumbled, reaching up to take his questing limb in her hands as she opened her mouth.

“Stay with me, sweetheart,” he insisted. "Bite if you need to."

Rey nodded, turning her attention to caressing and sucking on the bit of him that filled her mouth, and he felt her relax slowly as her body produced more fluid to ease their joining. She whimpered and nipped when he increased his pace, and he felt the sensation of her teeth drive him closer and closer to the edge.

“That’s it... Fuck, you feel so good…” He breathed against her hair, pressing his face down to inhale her scent. “My sweet mate…”

Legs spread as wide as she could, her hands and mouth occupied, Rey could only keen her pleasure, but he felt the tremors in her core and knew she would come for him soon. The thought drove him on, and he pressed into her as much as he could, his hands on her breasts almost cruel in their attentions. Once more, he fucked her steadily as she shook and stilled suddenly, her body tight around him, low, filthy groans of delight spilling out of her mouth around the limb that filled it.

Rey leaned her head back tiredly, releasing his limb to wipe her mouth, and he could feel her awareness fading.

“Ben…” She blinked rapidly, body jerking in a boneless slump as he continued to thrust in while pulling her down onto him. “I don’t think… I can’t… much longer...”

“Shhh…” His hands and limbs rubbed her back and smoothed over her hair as he turned her in against his chest. “You're incredible, Rey. It's almost over - you're taking me - so fucking  _ perfectly _ -”

"Told you... so..."

He was hers now, as much as she was his - after feeling the slick, tight warmth of his mate, he would never be able to take another, his body would refuse to perform. Which was absolutely fine with him, because he couldn’t imagine  _ wanting _ another - Rey was brilliant and beautiful and fierce and -

\-  _ yes, YES,  _ **_YES_ ** -

-there was a roar of sound in his ears, he barely recognized the roughness of his own growl, his head dizzy with the rush of pleasure and relief. He felt as though he were falling, just for an instant, as if gravity had failed and he was somehow floating,  and then Rey cried out, pulling him back, her hands latched onto him and her eyes shut tight as he swelled and burst inside of her, filling her with his seed and locking them together.

“Ben… I didn’t know…” Was she crying? He turned her carefully, adjusting his knot so it didn’t pull and cause her pain, and wiped under her eyes with his thumbs.

“Your bite,” Rey begged, voice turning harsh. “Please... it burns…”

How could he have forgotten?

Swiftly, he swept the matted hair from her neck and bent his head down, sharp, serrated teeth piercing her delicate flesh with ease, venom mixing with his saliva as he lapped at her blood.

_ I love you, Rey. So much. _

“I know,” she whispered, hands buried in his hair, frantically keeping his attentions on her as the venom worked through her veins. “I know, I… I can feel it.”

She was crying again, but now he understood. It wasn’t sadness, or pain. That was there, he could feel the way her blood ran with fever and her insides burned dully from his fluid, but Rey wasn't the kind to cry with pain, and it was ebbing anyway as his bite took hold.

He hadn’t realised humans could cry with joy.

 

 

The last thing Rey actually felt, just before she lost consciousness, was the sharp sting of his teeth piercing her neck, the venom spreading throughout her body like an injection of potent drugs, numbing where she burned and ached, relaxing her into his arms. This was how it was supposed to feel, given Kaydel’s explanation and the detailed information in her reading materials, so she wasn’t particularly concerned, but she did worry that her loss of consciousness would upset her new mate.

“Ben, I'm…” It was too hard to form words out loud.

_ I’m okay… love you…  _ Even her thoughts felt slurred, but she pressed them into his mind anyway, able to feel how his emotions swarmed, love and joy so fragile she was terrified a single misstep would break him.  _ Don’t freak out…  s’possed to happen. Please… don’t leave me alone... _

_ No, Rey. You’ll never be alone again. _

_ Neither... will you. _


	15. The Fuckening (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of all the things, it was the teeth that truly shocked Rey. Her skin was the same light bronze, kissed by untold hours in the Jakku desert, though her hair was longer and had a more definite curl, darkened somewhat from her natural brown. As she leaned forward to examine it more closely, trying to decide if it was truly black and if what appeared to be violet highlights were actually violet, she caught a glimpse of her open mouth and yelped.
> 
> Her hand coming up instinctively to cover her lips, she backed away from the mirror a little, cautiously feeling around with her tongue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the epilogue to go. I'm gonna miss these kids!
> 
> Note: If you want to skip the kids thing, it starts in the last paragraph of this chapter and goes through the epilogue. I think either one is a satisfying ending, you're not missing much if you choose to just leave off just below where it says "That helps too."

Of course, he waited on her like an invalid the next day, refusing to even let her walk to the bathroom until Kaydel had come and looked her over. The medic had to shoo Ben out of the room, finally, so she could perform her exam and question Rey without tripping over his tangle of limbs.

“No tearing, that’s good. Everything looks healthy, just take it easy for today.” She gave Rey a stern look. “The venom will set in sometime in the next day-night cycle. Believe me, you’ll know.”

“Can you tell if… if it caught?” Rey wondered. The medic laughed, going to the door to let her worried mate back in.

“Eager to be a mom that badly, are you? Even after you’ve met my charming little hellion?” She shook her head. “It’s too early now, but I’ll leave you a test kit. Give it a week and call for me if it’s positive.”

“Thank you!” Rey couldn’t help but grin at the idea, and Ben snaked a limb around her waist, settling protectively over her stomach. She laid her hands over him and met his adoring gaze.

“Everything is… alright?” He asked with a piercing stare.

“She’ll be perfectly well with a little time and plenty of rest,” the medic assured him. “I have treated a few mated pairs in my time. Including myself. You have nothing to worry about.” 

Ben remained looking unconvinced, stroking a limb over her forehead with a distressed little growl, and Kaydel glanced sympathetically at Rey. “I can leave some pain medicine if you're really uncomfortable.”

“The bite stings a little,” she answered. She didn't really feel the need for it, but it seemed to reassure her anxious guardian. “Otherwise, I'm just tired.”

“Well, the best treatment for that is your husband’s own tongue, so I’ll leave that to him. You may feel feverish on and off, but don't worry too much. Your blood counts are all within the normal range.” She rose to leave, giving Ben another stern look. “Don't pester her, Master Solo. Call me if you need anything, but don't worry if she sleeps a lot.”

“Right. I won't,” he promised. “Thank you, Kay.”

“My pleasure.”

Ben escorted her out, returning after a moment with a tray of fruit and sashimi from the kitchen to feed her. Rey rolled her eyes as he settled her against his chest, but accepted the care without too much complaint, grateful there wasn’t any seaweed. When she was done, she patted his chest gently.

“Okay, you can carry me to the bathroom, but I don’t need your help with the facilities. Why don’t you run a bath instead?”

“You need salt water.” She smirked, expecting he would say something like that. “Let me take you outside -”

“The faucets have an option to fill from the sea. Warm salt water sounds divine, but I’d rather have bath oil and soap and no fish.” She eyed him sternly as he set her down before the little closet that hid the toilet. “Okay? You can help me bathe if you want, the tub is plenty big.”

He seemed pleased at that idea, smiling down at her, and she climbed up on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “I love you.”

A slight smirk teased the side of his mouth as he peered down at her, his hand gently brushing over cheek and down her jawline.

“I know.”

  
  


It was the middle of the night when she felt her body changing, the fever she had gone to bed with finally breaking. Ben was not in the room, though she could sense him nearby doing something that required intensive amounts of concentration, and she decided not to call for him until she was certain the change was complete. The accounts she'd read had her both dying of curiosity and somewhat nervous, as she was not entirely sure how she would look if her eyes turned color or her skin took on a blue tint. She wanted time to adjust to herself in the mirror before she faced her mate.

Of all the things, it was the teeth that truly shocked Rey. Her skin was the same light bronze, kissed by untold hours in the Jakku desert, though her hair was longer and had a more definite curl, darkened somewhat from her natural brown. As she leaned forward to examine it more closely, trying to decide if it was truly black and if what appeared to be violet highlights were actually violet, she caught a glimpse of her open mouth and yelped.

Her hand coming up instinctively to cover her lips, she backed away from the mirror a little, cautiously feeling around with her tongue.

_ Rey? Are you -? _

_ BEN! Come and SEE! _

She was still staring, running a thumb over the full row of pointed teeth behind her bottom lip, when she heard him squeaking over the floors, probably trailing water everywhere in his haste, though she really didn’t mind.

“Oh, Rey,” his voice was quiet, but there was an awe in it that made her heart skip a beat, and she turned, feeling a rush of adrenaline as if seeing him for the first time. “You’re beautiful, sweetheart. Absolutely. I don’t know what to say.”

“Me either.” She shook her head, coming to stand before him and leaning up on her tiptoes to slide her arms around his neck. “Kiss me,” she demanded, and he obliged immediately.

And broke away, blinking, after she caught his lower lip as gently as she could between her teeth. Rey grinned, sharpened teeth fully on display as he stared down at her in wonder, and she watched as a familiar look slowly came into his eyes, setting her blood afire.

“Rey,” he managed hoarsely, slender limbs wrapping around her waist. “Can we -?”

“Yes. Yes, please,” she begged, finding herself absolutely overwhelmed with want and need in ways she had never felt before. “Force, I - I  _ need _ you - Ben!”

He crushed her against him, lips claiming hers and tongue thrust firmly into her mouth, dancing over the sharp edges inside before she tangled her fists in his hair and sucked on it hard. Ben groaned wildly, another limb making short work of the thin undergarment and silk slip that covered her body, so he could touch her everywhere at once.

He felt so good just stroking her skin and caressing between her legs and around her nipples, but Rey wanted more. She released his tongue to drag a hand down his chest, tracing the outline of hard muscle before seeking what she really wanted beneath.

“Are you sure, Rey?” He looked down with wide eyes, not stopping her questing hand but holding her gaze as she took hold of him and pumped her fist gently. “Let me warm you up, my love -”

“No.” Securing one hand around his neck, she jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist and trying to find the right leverage to fit him against her. “We’ve waited long enough. Please, Ben.”

“You’ll tell me if it’s too much?” He was already wriggling into her, his other appendages posing her as he needed and holding her still as he slowly pressed in with a series of pleasured grunts. “ _ Force _ , Rey!”

“It's okay, it's okay…” She moaned, testing her strength against his, trying to take him in faster. “Gods, Ben, it just feels good… I want more.”

“More?” 

His mind brushed hers and she focused on the wealth of pleasure coming from her physical sensations, his thick length sliding so  _ tortuously _ slowly, the secure clutch of his limbs around her and the soft, satiny texture she could feel under her hands as she gripped him. There had been pain before, she vaguely remembered, enough to war with the pleasure, but there was nothing like that now, he slid into her easily and her body stretched to accommodate his girth as if she were built for him.

“Yes, more,” she begged. “I want you so deep inside I can’t tell where you end and I begin.”

“ _ Kriff _ , Rey, yes!” 

He watched himself sink into her as if mesmerized, and Rey moaned with every gentle thrust, until his ridged head nudged up against her cervix and she sighed in absolute delight and relief. She didn’t know she would need him so badly in such a very physical way, although Kaydel had tried to explain the overwhelming desire, she hadn’t really understood until now.

It wasn’t just want or desire or  _ hunger. _ She needed him like she’d needed water after hours in the desert sun. It was overwhelming and all consuming, and the sheer  _ delight _ at being filled was almost enough to bring her to climax without him even moving. And then he did move, and she stiffened and shattered around him with a broken sob.

He was still fucking her, in a slow, deliberate rhythm, when her mind reassembled itself and she opened her eyes to stare up at him in amazement.

“Holy fucking fuck.” Rey glanced down, seeing him still joined to her, and felt her eyes roll again with another surge of pleasure. “Did you not …?”

“No,” he said with crooked smile, reaching a hand up to stroke her hair. “I can do this for quite a while, Rey.”

“Oh. Oh, Gods.” She felt her thighs clench and squeezed her eyes shut. “Ben, I don’t think it’s a good idea to… I don’t want to overexert myself…”

“I won’t overdo it,” he promised, glancing over her body thoughtfully. “Can we try something?”

“Why not?”

She regretted her words immediately when he withdrew from her, but Ben shushed her with an amused smile.

“Get on your hands and knees on the bed.”

“ _ Ohhh _ .”

She could do that. Absolutely.

It was different with the bed to hold her, she felt him more intensely, and she could push back if she was careful enough. Her fists clenched in the bedsheets, and she moaned when he gently prodded her other hole, after rubbing a limb around the moisture-slick place where he already filled her.

“Rey?”

“Yes. Yes, Ben, do whatever…” She panted, gasping as he penetrated her there, too. “Fuck! Do whatever you want… I'll tell you if it's too much.”

His limbs moved all over her, with a strength and eagerness she had yet to see from him, as he finally let himself go and take her in all the ways he couldn’t before. Her body was stronger now, she could tell, more than just increasing her endurance, Ben’s bite had increased her physical strength and mental focus as well. And somehow, it changed the way she felt things, as if every part of her body, from her lips to her hands to her nether regions, had become more sensitive overall.

He fucked her harder this way, sending ripples back and forth through the water-filled mattress, and she loved every minute of it. The other limb writhing above pressed in further than before, moving in opposite rhythm to his thick cock, and more appendages worked her front, teasing her nipples and rubbing against her swollen pearl until she came, again and again, panting and sweating yet still yearning for more, that strange  _ need _ throbbing deep inside of her.

“Ben,” she breathed hoarsely, “I need… I think… Come inside me, please, please...” Yes,  _ that _ ’ _ s _ what she needed. His essence spilling out inside her, filling her with his seed until she carried his child. “I need to feel you…”

“Good gods, woman - You know exactly what to say, don’t you?” He moved faster and Rey moaned her appreciation, dropping her head and shoulders onto the mattress, where his limbs promptly twined around to pillow her. “Hang on, sweetheart - I’m gonna fill you so hard - it’ll be dripping down your legs -”

“Oh, yes… fuck me and fill me until it catches...”

“You really want a baby, Rey?” She could hear the desperate need in his voice, and sense the excitement rising in him, and she whimpered, nodding enthusiastically. “Yeah? I'm gonna give you one...”

"Please, Ben!"

He didn’t need much encouragement, and Rey came again when he did, whimpering a little at the feel of him expanding even more. He removed his other limb to ease her, rubbing soothing circles on her back as she lay still, in a half-trance of satiated bliss.

“Alright there, my little mate?”

“I’m… more than ‘alright,’” she sighed, carefully leaning forward to ease the strain on her hips. “I’ve never felt so good in my entire life. I feel like I should be tired. Shouldn’t I be tired?”

“Hmm. Not necessarily.” Careful of his knot still locked within her, he lifted her body and drew it back into his hold, letting her relax her overworn muscles. “Sometimes females will have a flurry of nesting instincts, especially after a successful mating. Ahhh…  _ drakkan _ females, anyway. I’m afraid I didn’t pay as much attention to the tutor during that particular lesson.”

“You mean you ignored the parts that didn’t apply to you,” she teased. “Hmm. How difficult would it be to add another room down here?”

“Ah, here it comes.”

“What?” She turned her head to glare at him, but Ben only returned a patient, lazy smile. “I’m just thinking out loud… I wonder if we could build a sort of indoor pool. With an airlock down here and the top at ground level above? Mmm. How long does this -”

“It took about half an hour before, but you were… unconscious.”

“Oh, gods! Did you - what did you -”

“I, ah… got us in here and then I…” he mumbled something into her hair that sounded suspiciously like it had something to do with his  _ mother _ , and Rey choked.

“You  _ what?! _ ” He was silent, and she twisted in his arms to see his face, the pale skin reddened all the way to the tips of his ears. “You didn't -”

“It was just a voice comm. I was scared, alright? I didn't want to wake Kaydel, it was the middle of the night!” He rolled his eyes at her sniggering laughter.

“Well, the next family gathering is going to be a bit… uncomfortable.” She chuckled again, and Ben latched on her waist suddenly, holding her still. “What…?”

“Don't do that,” he hissed. “Don't laugh.”

“Oh, I didn't mean to make fun of you, I'm sure it was terrifying for you with me just completely unmoving -”

“No, I mean… I get that it's funny, but if you keep moving like that, we're gonna be like this for a lot longer than half an hour.” He twitched within her, as if in emphasis, and Rey inhaled sharply. 

“Oh, fuck.” She closed her eyes, willing her body to relax, but he moved again and she couldn't help it, she moaned and closed her eyes, leaning back into his arms. “Maybe just… gently?”

“I can be gentle,” he agreed immediately. “If you want me to.”

“I do.” 

He eased her up carefully, tugging his half-swollen knot against her in the most pleasurable way, and Rey felt nearly boneless all over, panting and moaning as his limbs caressed her everywhere. It was a slow, sweet torture, and she had never felt anything so divine as Ben Solo making gentle love to her entire body. She wanted to stay there forever, in the half-lucid state of gradual arousal, building and building until she came entirely by surprise, her soft cries loud in the undersea palace.

“Again?” He offered, and she sighed in contentment, just happy to relax in his arms and let him touch her until he crested finally for the second time, pulling her with him to sink into the bed, both exhausted and utterly spent.

  
  


When she woke, later, she was still nestled amid his warm limbs, though his knot had long since released her, the rest of his body remained inextricably woven with hers. It was the first time she really recalled waking to find Ben still asleep, and she tugged and wiggled carefully until she could see his face, relaxed and beautiful in the dim light. She touched his cheek and brushed his hair back, kissing his eyes until he finally stirred and came to life lazily, with a shudder that flowed through his entire body.

“Hi,” she greeted, unable to hold back her smile. 

“Hello, wife.” He looked her over, as if checking her for damage, and she sighed and snuggled in against him.

“I don't want to get up, but I'm hungry,” she said, almost petulant. “Also, I got a mating gift for you, I keep forgetting!”

“I have something for you, too. It took me a few weeks to complete, I hope you like it.” He kissed her forehead and wrapped himself around her in a quick, affectionate hug. “If you'll get up, I will make breakfast, and we can exchange gifts.”

“That’s a good incentive,” she yawned, pushing free of his nest of limbs to wander over to her closet. She grabbed a robe and a clean pair of underwear and headed towards the bathroom. “Excuse me if I don't feel like getting dressed, though.”

“Sure. It's not as if I'm accustomed to seeing you in clothes anyway,” he winked, limbs squeaking on the flooring as he left the bedroom.

While he was gone, she retrieved the little jewelry box wrapped in red paper and black twine from her satchel hanging over the closet door, and made her way into the kitchen, already salivating at the smell of cooking. Ben was grilling some sort of meat and flat griddle cakes made with tube vegetables that were native to the islands. It was served with a syrupy golden substance that she was shocked to find was made by some kind of flying insect, and the ubiquitous blended fruit drink they seemed to have everywhere on Siltana.

“No caf?”

“No,” he eyed her sympathetically. “You're going to have to live without it for a while, unfortunately.”

“What?! Why -”

“It's not good for…” He cast a meaningful glance over her lower body, gesturing with a limb that wasn't otherwise occupied. “You know. Pregnant women.”

“Oh, fuck, I didn't think about that.” She pouted for all of ten seconds, completely distracted by her first bite food. “Oh, I like these!”

“It's about the only thing I can cook, besides sashimi and crackers,” he admitted, shyly settling at the table across from her.

He hardly paid attention to his own food, watching avidly as Rey devoured everything he put on her plate. When she dripped syrup on herself by accident, he was quick to snatch up her hand, licking the sweet nectar from her thumb and forefinger before she could get to them. When she finally convinced him she was satisfied with breakfast, they sat in the living room with fresh cups of the finest decaffeinated tea Rey had ever tasted, sweetened with coconut milk, and exchanged gifts.

Ben tried to get her to open hers first, but she stubbornly insisted she couldn't give his the proper attention until she was certain what he thought of her gift. So he made quick work of the wrapping with his multiple limbs, then opened the box and regarded the contents quizzically. Rey watched with her heart half in her throat as he lifted the pendant on its waterproof nylon cord and examined the blood-red crystal against his palm. It glowed visibly in the undersea shadows, casting a warm crimson aura over Rey's bare feet.

“This is a kyber crystal,” he said in a strained voice.

“Yes, I know. The jeweler told me. It was given to him for a commission, but the client never returned, so he crafted it into something else.” He gave her a thoughtful look, holding the stone between two large fingers. There was a strange sort of sound, like a very distant, pure bell tone, and Rey realised it was the crystal, reacting with Ben's Force power. “The Jedi acolytes were sent to retrieve them as a test, to prove they were ready to build a lightsaber.”

“Hmm. It's…” He frowned, and Rey glanced down awkwardly.

“If you don't like it, I'm sure he'll take it back.”

“What? Of course not! I'm not giving it back!” Ben's hand tightened firmly around it, and he looked up at her with a confused expression. “Rey. This is the best gift anyone's ever given me. Ah, second-best if you count yourself.” A warm curl of flesh slid around her ankle, and another pressed up under her chin, tipping her face up towards him. “It's… It's perfect, I'm just… in shock. I've never even seen a kyber crystal and this… I can feel it calling to me in the Force. I don't know how to express how much it means to me.”

“You don't have to,” she smiled, scolding herself for her momentary lapse. “I can hear it, too.”

He nodded to the rectangular object wrapped in dark blue silk on her lap. 

“Open yours.”

Swallowing thickly, she unwound the beautiful fabric, noting it was itself a gift, the heavy silk was double-folded and more than enough to make for a fine dress. But inside, she found a sleek, hand-bound leather book, the thick pages filled with familiar script and detailed drawings, all painstakingly copied in fine dark inks.

“This is in Aurebesh!” She was surprised to see such a book here, when everything in the library was either Siltanese,  _ drakkan, _ or rarely, High Galactic, none of which she was capable of reading. But the diagrams seemed familiar, as did the script and beautiful, calligraphic title pages.

“I hope you can forgive the occasional error. I wanted to have something special for you, and I am the only one I know whom I trust to have legible script,” he explained. “It's an ancient  _ drakkan _ text, detailing exercises and powers of the Force.”

“You… you copied this yourself? For me? The _whole_ book?”

“It's not as much of a labor as it would be for you quadrupeds, but it did take me quite a few hours.” He shrugged, waggling his many appendages. “I did have to check a few of the more… esoteric bits… with my uncle on the southern archipelago.”

“You made me a book. A book about the Force!” She shook tears from her eyes, getting up to wrap her arms around his neck with a thrilled squeal. “I love it! And I love your beautiful writing! Thank you!”

“It's just a book,” he mumbled, seemingly surprised by her enthusiasm, “but you're welcome.”

“Do you think we could have more made? Not…” She ran a hand down the embroidered spine, already cherishing her copy. “Not like this, just simple books. Or maybe some cheap datapads?”

“What are you thinking, my brilliant mate?”

“Kiba and Warrl were talking about starting a home. For orphans or freed slaves with nowhere else to go. I was thinking… there's got to be more people like us out there, right? People with Force powers who don't want to be Jedi or anything, just come and study, stay if they want to, or -”

She trailed off, noticing the slender tip of several tentacles drifting over to curl around her face and sneak up under her robe. “Ben?”

“You really are brilliant, Rey.” He slipped a questing limb inside her robe, gently curling it around her peaked nipple, and she gasped slightly. “My mother has been worrying about our kingdom's future. There are so many more males than females, and very few mated pairs, our population is dwindling. But we can import citizens much faster than we can produce them naturally… Not that I don't fully intend to do our share.”

“Obviously.” Rey caught another wriggling appendage and directed it down, holding the sleek, firm flesh to her center and grinding against it. “Maybe we can offer an incentive. ‘If you like tentacle porn, come to our planet and get your very own sexy sea-monster!’”

“I just heard you yelling at Kiba to stop calling us monsters,” he chuckled. “But that's an… interesting idea. There are quite a few marriage brokers on the Holonet, and I'm sure you're not the only member of your species into weird kinky pairings.”

“Probably not, although... it helps that you're a prince and a Force-user.” She was sprawled on the couch now, Ben's limbs buried and working deep inside of her, making it extremely difficult to continue the conversation. 

“It helps?” 

He had moved closer, peering down into her eyes, and the sight of that red crystal hanging down on his pale, flat chest made her heart do a strange flip. She smoothed both hands slowly up the expanse of skin, and he closed his eyes, leaning in to claim a searing kiss. Seizing the opportunity, she pushed her hand into his mass of limbs, finding him hard and leaking blue-white precum. He made a muffled growling sound against her mouth as she stroked him with both hands, and redoubled his attentions on her pliant body.

“That helps, too.”

There was no way either of them could focus on anything else now, and Rey let it go, accepting that they'd get back to more important conversation when the bliss of mating grew less urgent.

 

For a week, they remained mostly in seclusion, communicating with friends and Ben’s family through the holonetwork or household comms, except for the occasional hour or two they devoted to Rey learning how to hunt for fish. Apparently, the only acceptable freshness for feeding his family was ‘alive and wriggling no more than two hours ago,’ and Ben insisted she learn his methods with spears and nets.

“It’s not  _ fishing _ ,” he told her with a slight air of superiority. “What the landfolk do is just setting out bait and waiting. What we do is  _ hunting. _ ”

Rey privately decided she agreed; furthermore, where it took Poe or Warrl all day to catch a handful of assorted fish, it took her and Ben less than an hour to bring home a dozen large ocean fish. And with the changes to her physiology, she appreciated the freshly sliced sashimi far more, although to Ben’s disgust she still hated seaweed.

She sent him out hunting for their supper at the end of the week, wanting to be alone when she performed the simple test Kaydel had left. A pinprick of blood and the little minidroid went to work, requiring thirty minutes to fully analyze the results.

Rey paced, then decided she needed a distraction and picked up the holopad to sketch ideas for her underwater additions, only to feel restless sitting down and go back to pacing. Ben came home just as the little bot beeped to tell her it was through, and she hastily snatched it up and shut herself in the bathroom before he could see.

Just for this one minute, she wanted to be alone. To be the first to know.

She double-checked the results, just to make sure she was reading correctly, one hand over her mouth the entire time. Ben came to find her, no doubt sensing her reaction through the Force, calling her name as he made his way through the house.

“In here!” She sat on the edge of the tub, the results held in one trembling hand, which she offered to him as he came through the door. “Ben…”

Rey watched his expression eagerly as he looked them over, eyes scanning each line twice, before he tossed the thing on the counter and grabbed her with every single limb he possessed. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pressed her to him, unable to find the words to speak it outloud.

“Why are you crying, sweetheart? I thought you wanted my children?”

“I do - Oh, Ben, I do - I just,” she sobbed, clinging to him with every ounce of strength she possessed as she sobbed openly. “I never thought - I’m just - I didn’t think I would ever be this happy. Like it wasn’t allowed. I’m an orphan and a slave from a desert junkheap in the Outer Rim. I wasn’t meant to have a family, and now - we’re having  _ two _ , Ben! Two!”

“I know, I know, I can read.” He kissed the top of her head, purring slightly as he rocked her in the safety of his embrace. “Rey, you’ve made me so happy. I couldn’t imagine ever wanting any of this - I was a lonely, withdrawn sort of kid - I didn’t think I was meant to have a family either.”

“Well, so much for what we know,” she laughed. “I suppose you can drink a toast to Hux and Snoke. We wouldn’t have this without their vile zoo.”

“I can’t wait to tell our children how brave and fierce their mother was.”

“Or how their father strangled a Hutt with his bare hands.”

“We’ll save the good parts until they’re a bit older.”


	16. Congratulations, It's a... Squid!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I fucking hate you right now,” she growled as she squeezed her eyes shut, fingernails dug into the sensitive underside of the limbs wrapped around her.
> 
> “I know,” Ben kissed her head, “but push anyway, okay?”
> 
> “Fuck you,” she gasped as she did, all of them wincing at the continued shrill cries of their daughter, who it seemed was already sensitive enough to feel her mother’s pain.
> 
> “One more, Rey, I can see him -”
> 
> Rey bit the limb nearest her mouth, sharp teeth piercing his flesh, and Padmè shrieked far too close to his ear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's that kids! I am gonna miss my consenticle babies, but I have other WIP that I'm eager to work on so... I hope you enjoy this last bit of domesticity and family drama, and thanks for joining me on this crazy train! <3 <3
> 
> (+1 if you get the title reference ;-D)

_Eight months and some days later…_

Padmè screamed and flailed, barely contained even with all of Leia’s limbs wrapped around her, and it took a combined effort to get her last little coil free of her twin while her mother hissed hoarse curses, long since exhausted past the point of screams.

“Right,” Kaydel herself was panting, her tired eyes focused on Rey and Ben, who held his wife upright and pulled damp hair from her face. “Now you can push again.”

“I fucking _hate_ you right now,” she growled as she squeezed her eyes shut, fingernails dug into the sensitive underside of the limbs wrapped around her.

“I know,” Ben kissed her head, “but push anyway, okay?”

“Fuck you,” she gasped as she did, all of them wincing at the continued shrill cries of their daughter, who it seemed was already sensitive enough to feel her mother’s pain.

“One more, Rey, I can see him -”

Rey bit the limb nearest her mouth, sharp teeth piercing his flesh, and Padmè shrieked far too close to his ear.

“Mom, get her _out_ of here, for fuck’s sake!”

He could hear the door open and close, his father and the rest of their family somewhat less than thrilled to meet their screeching, grabby new member. But Ben’s attention was on his wife, and the little pink-skinned infant Kaydel was placing on her stomach, who hardly cried at all except in little warbling gasps. He seemed comforted easily when Ben lifted him closer to his mother, and Rey was able to stroke his head and let him latch onto her finger.

“Hello, Rian,” she whispered. “Thank you for not screaming.”

There was a tap on the door a few moments later, and Jykatha poked her head in, an impossibly calm little sea-monster wrapped around one of her arms and _lekku_ , quietly sucking her own tentacle.

“How -” Ben started.

The Togruta shrugged, just as baffled by the infant’s sudden change in behavior as he was.

“Don’t ask me, they were passing her around like a hot potato and somehow I ended up like this,” she glanced around, eyes widening at the other infant now wrapped and cradled in Rey’s arms. “Uh, can I -”

Her new accessory had noticed the quietly bundled infant as well, and several of her little violet limbs reached out, her mouth already open with insistent cries that threatened to increase dramatically. Ben smirked, taking his daughter from her reluctant babysitter and bringing her over to see her brother, noting how her cries stopped as soon as she was close enough.

One little limb reached out, coiling around the tiny hand that wasn’t clutching Rey’s finger, and Rian latched onto it immediately. Both infants were blessedly silent, falling almost instantly asleep in their exhausted parents’ arms.

“Well, thank the gods for that,” Rey whispered. Ben nodded, unable to peel his eyes away from the sight of his new family. _His._

_Ours._

  


_And some years later…_

It was the same as they grew up. Padmè was a terror with her grabby arms, latching onto anyone and anything she’d decided was hers with a fierce possessiveness. Unless Rian decided he wanted it or asked firmly for her to share, which she did grudgingly, but always at his request.

At five, they were faced with an almost impossible dilemma, and possibly the reasoning behind their daughter’s defensive, protective treatment of her twin. Padmè had the Force, lots of it, both Rey and Ben had noticed it early on in her pregnancy, and the way toys and cookies found their way into greedy little hands from inaccessible countertops and shelves was hard to miss.

But Rian… had very little. And what he did have, he seemed to have no interest in pursuing. He would watch his sister with a bemused smile, clapping happily when she succeeded in her heists, and he never once told on her, even when Rey tried to bribe him with treats. When they were still young, it was okay for Rian to sit quietly and watch as Padmè followed Ben's patient instructions, and for the most part he did so without disruption.

It became more contentious when they started attending Warrl's little school, with the other foundlings Rey and Jykatha brought back from their travels. Some, like Padmè, already displayed Force talents, and Ben was happy to teach those who wanted to learn, but no matter how his sister pestered him, it seemed in this one instance their naturally reserved son was prepared to make a stand.

They discussed it one night when the children were away, at a group sleepover organized by the adults, overseen by Milo Wexley and Kiba. Thrace and Rose's older daughter, Paige were there, and the majority of the younglings from the school as well. The older kids had been allowed to join the adults at the villa, a privilege they had so far managed to be respectful of.

“We don't want to push him,” Rey was explaining to Leia. “If Rian wants to take over my business someday, I'm happy to teach him.” She shrugged. “He's eight. He'll probably go through a hundred phases of what he wants to be when he grows up, and she will, too. It'll sort itself out, I'm sure of it.”

“But you're going to keep training Padmè, right?” Rose looked somewhat worried, with her little stubby-horned infant asleep in her lap, too young to be staying with the others.

“Of course we are,” Ben sighed. “She wants to be a ‘good pirate’ taking on all the evils of the galaxy with twelve plasma blades.” He chuckled, and Rey and Rose joined him. “The problem is, she wants her brother to be with her.”

“She's too attached,” Leia said dismissively. “Let Luke take her for awhile -”

“ _NO!_ ” Ben growled so vehemently, he woke the baby, and Rose and Poe shot him dark looks, while Finn took her in his arms to rock gently. Running a hand through his hair, as he was wont to do when overwhelmed socially, Ben sighed and apologized. “Sorry, I’ll take her if you want.”

“Have at it, Octo-Dad,” Finn handed the infant over with a grin. He watched Ben deftly maneuver the infant and the bottle Poe dug out, his eyes wide with suppressed amusement as she slowly settled. “Wow, remind me to bring her over more often.”

“Sure,” he said with an easy shrug. “Poe can bring Kia to work anytime. I’ve got lessons, but I don’t mind giving you guys a break now and then.”

He didn’t say that they might need to return the favor soon, but his eyes glinted at Rey, and she grinned. One long limb slipped beneath her oversized wrap, nestling around her waist, and she laid her hand over it, feeling several coils loop around her ankles beneath the bench she sat on.

_Are you alright?_

_I… yes, but… I'm not sending my daughter, or any of our kids, to Luke, and that's final._

Rey had hardly seen Luke, other than the seasonal holidays and family gatherings, but it was clear there was some unresolved tension between him and her husband. Her eyes found the appraising dark eyes of Ben’s father in along the darkened shoreline, and Rey frowned, sensing there was something old and painful there that might come back to cause trouble for her growing family.

_Okay, but at least tell me why?_

_Later. I promise._

Rey squeezed his limb and shook her head at Leia, presenting a united front when it came to her family, one hand still resting protectively over her slightly-rounded stomach. They hadn’t officially told anyone yet, and since having the twins she had filled out more, the wiry muscle and sharp edges of the Jakku desert softened enough that it wasn’t immediately obvious. Rose had guessed, and of course Kaydel knew, but they had decided to keep it to themselves until they had the whole family together, including the twins.

“We could never separate our family. They'll cope with different classes, but at least they'll be in the same house.” She vowed, reaching out and folding her fingers through Ben's after he handed Lyra back to her father. “I know Padmè won't like it, but that's how it's going to be.”

“Rey, untempered power of that kind could be dangerous, you have no idea what she's capable of, and we've already seen how stubborn she is. I love her, too, but -”

“I will not abandon my child. The subject is closed, and that's final.” She gave everyone a soothing smile. “Things have slowed down a bit with work, we’re taking on less little jobs to focus on the really big contracts, I can stay home more if I need to.”  


Later, when she pressed, Ben told her quietly of how his own Force powers had overwhelmed him at a similar age. How he had begged his mother not to send him away, and how the queen and her twin had argued with his father over it bitterly.

They'd waited until Han and Chewie left on a long-term business venture, and by the time he returned, Ben had refused to speak to him. He didn't want to speak to his uncle, either, nor did he conform to Luke's idea of training. But he did make use of the crumbling temple on the remote island, carefully clearing away rubble and lifting great blocks of stone to piece together the great mural of the Force Trinity, the Son, the Daughter and the Father.

They were old deities, and Ben didn't feel much need to worship anything, but he had learned from the mythology, the resounding themes of Dark, Light and the Balance between them. There was a library hidden in the island as well, and he found it easier to teach himself from books and scrolls than it was to listen to his uncle's stern, inflexible teachings on the Light.

It was Luke he had been fleeing when he was caught in Snoke's trap. There must have been some wisdom to be taken from all of it, however, because Luke Skywalker had made efforts to study things from different perspectives after losing Ben. He was no longer staunchly-rooted to the black-and-white model of the Force, accepting that perhaps the old order that had failed both Anakin and Obi-wan had its faults.

“But, I still don't think it's a good idea to send Padmè away,” he said at the end. “Not just because I don't trust Luke to train anyone in a Force he seems to barely understand himself, but also -”

“No, Ben,” she shook her head, pressing her small body around his upper torso, her fingers soothing through his wild hair. “I'm with you. Our family stays together, no matter what. We're not sending anyone away.”

He wrapped her in his limbs until not a sliver of naked skin was bare to the cool of their bedroom, and purred lightly against her throat, his face buried in her neck.

“Or leaving anyone behind?” He murmured, and she smiled, her arms snug around his head and neck.

“I love you.”

“I know.” He was quiet for a long moment, and Rey had almost fallen asleep, having desperately missed the soothing nest of his limbs on her travels, when his voice rumbled again against her neck. “It's another set of them, did you know?”

“I thought so. I meant to ask Kaydel, but, I think I forgot on purpose.” She sighed. “Your people are really fertile, aren't they?”

He chuckled. “I'm an only child, so…”

“Yeah, but Kaydel's got three now -” Rey blinked, putting the pieces together, and then gave her own little chuckle. “It's the pairing, isn't it?”

“Oh. I guess so.” He released her a little, peering up to meet her eyes in the dark. “We're gonna be okay, Rey. It's not like we don't have plenty of help.”

“I know. I'm just worried about Mey. We can't afford for her to feel pushed aside or… What if she's jealous? You ran away from Luke and it nearly cost you everything.”

“I don't think you're giving our daughter enough credit.” He smirked. “She's upset because she doesn't want to be separated from her brother. We're about to give her two more siblings, who are gonna need all the attention and care they can get. If anyone's jealous, it'll be Rian.”

  


_Eighteen years and then some…_

The death of Ben's mother, even though it was long-expected, left them all reeling. Rey and her older son were all the way across the galaxy, negotiating the sale of rare parts to an old Empire-class Star Destroyer. Even at top speed, it took them two days to get home.

In addition to being their ruler, Leia was a popular and well-loved one. She was the most popular queen in centuries, and her funeral was a massive affair. People came from everywhere, all across the planet and even the galaxy.

Han’s passing a year before had been a subdued affair, partly due to his own wishes, and partly because _drakkan_ did not outlive their mates for long. They didn’t speak of it much, but everyone knew Leia would soon join her mate, and the state funeral would give those who hadn’t had the chance plenty of opportunity to pay their respects to them both. Thankfully, Jykatha and Rose took over administrative and planning duties, assisted by an elderly but still sharp Amilyn, because Rey's family demanded all of her focus.

At twenty-six, Padmè had finally mastered control of her powers, but it took a self-imposed exile to the island temple for her to fully come into her own. At first, she had been busy attending their dying great-uncle, but once Luke was gone, she had surprised them all with her decision to stay and rebuild. The great mural that Ben had so admired had been restored, and over the years, as Rey and Rian brought back students and artifacts, the temple had grown into something the entire planet could be proud of.

But Padmè still had her moods, and she had been very close to her grandmother. She lurked now in the water-filled chamber attached to the younger twins’ bedroom, hunched around herself in a corner with unseeing eyes, as her hands and limbs smoothed absentmindedly over the grooves and textures of her twin plasma blades. Rey tapped on the airlock, and she looked up slowly, her lighter humanoid eyes and russet waves framing a heart-shaped face so much like looking into a mirror at her younger self.

She gestured at the switch that would fill the lock with water and allow Rey access to the room, and Padmè gave a little shrug. It wasn't a clear dismissal, so Rey shucked off her leggings and tunic and belt, shoving them out the door, grateful  for her long-term habit of keeping on swimwear beneath her everyday clothes whenever she was home. She took a breath of air and activated the switch, wincing when the water came up over her neck and she sucked in oxygen through the under-used slits beneath her jaw.

Padmè watched curiously as she swam into the room, lifting a slender dark tendril to Rey's temple so they could communicate underwater.

_Does it hurt when you switch over after so long?_ She gestured at her own neck, and Rey lifted a hand to graze along her own, instinctively repeating the gesture.

_Sometimes. We were gone a long time, and Tatooine is a desert planet, so there was no ocean to refresh in._

_Oh, that's why Rian was so exhausted. I felt you come home, but he didn't come to see me._ She might have been pouting, but Rey could make out the teasing tone, and the lack of an edge to her thoughts. _I just wanted to be alone for a while. Lyra and Keran are so…_

_Loud?_

Rey shared a smile as they commiserated over the little balls of energy that were the younger set of twins. The reverse of Padmè and her brother, Lyra was humanoid, tall and slender and athletic, while her brother was on the small side for a _drakkan_ , but made up for it with his vibrant personality.

_I’m sorry. I should be out there, with everyone. I'm the oldest. I just… I needed to think._

_I know. It's alright. You're going to be queen someday, you might as well get in as much alone time now as you can._

_Gran said the same thing,_ she smiled, and Rey opened her arms. She held her oldest daughter tightly, feeling her shoulders shake, her tears disappearing under the water, and reflected on how easily Padmè had welcomed the embrace.

There had been several years where she refused either of her parents the slightest gesture of affection, and Rey was grateful those days were passed.

_Thank you for coming to get me,_ the young _drakkan_ released her gently, and Rey was briefly reminded of the little thieving tentacles that had liberated cookies and toys to share with her twin. _I love you, Mom. I just… want you to know. In case…_

_Shush. I'm not dying anytime soon_ _. And I love you, too._

  


Leia's funeral was as beautiful as a celebration on Siltana could be. The sky was a clear, perfect cerulean, with puffs of pale pink clouds, and the water of the harbor beyond the villa sparkled around the circle of boats and rafts gathered.

Amilyn spoke briefly into an amplifier, standing with Rey and the humanoid members of the Solo family on the large raft that bore the queen's body. Rey didn't pay much attention to her words, her eyes were busy roving over her children, assuring they were as comforted as she could make them. Lyra and Rian held hands as the youngest Solo sobbed openly, her twin not far away, guiding the raft with his father and sister, all of them bright-eyed and sunken with grief.

When it was Ben’s turn to speak, he climbed up on the raft, on a higher platform constructed so everyone gathered could see him, and Rey and Padmè used the Force to amplify his voice. He didn’t speak long, but his words were heartfelt and thoughtful, everything she’d come to expect from her clever, caring mate, and she gripped the tendril that quested for her hand firmly.

For a moment, Rey was confused as to why he’d stopped speaking, knowing his notes were at least another paragraph long, but then she sensed the pure venom in her children’s minds, and followed the eyes of the rest of the gathering.

A _drakkan_ woman with sleek hair and lips too red to be natural was moving among the boats, speaking loudly and passing out… Were those pamphlets or… flimsi photographs?

Ben dove off the platform with a large splash, followed quickly by a cursing Keran and another _drakkan_ male she vaguely recognized. Before she could make out what they were doing, Rian had pulled her head down and Lyra was holding a Force shield over the three of them, warding off the stun-bolts of blasters fired from the crowd.

“What’s going on?” Rian shouted over the rising shouts and sounds of fighting amongst the boats and landfolk. Lyra shook her head grimly, unable to lift her focus from the shield, and Rey closed her eyes and reached out, finding Padmè nearest to them, desperately tugging the raft all by herself.

_They’re pictures, Mom. You don’t want to see._

Her balance failed her, and she sank to her knees as Rian dropped with her, still holding on protectively, sheltering her emotionally while her daughters shielded them from physical assaults.

“Bastards, trying to stage a coup at a funeral!” Lyra was furious, gripping her trusted blaster/saber combo weapon in her free hand. “And passing out those _pictures_ … I swear I’ll murder them all myself.”

“What the fuck?” It wasn’t like Rian to curse so vehemently, and his mother was a little shocked at the tone of his voice. “Where did they even get such a thing -”

“Do you remember what I told you, about Snoke the Hutt and…” Rey forced herself to meet her son’s worried gaze. He knew, of course, all of their children had been told once they were adults, but for the sake of everyone’s sanity, they had left out details no one needed to hear. “How your father and I found each other?”

“You mean the porn ship?” Lyra quipped. Rey could only laugh weakly as both her children seemed to come to the same conclusion she had. “Oh, this bitch is going down! Take care of, Mom, Rian!”

“No, don’t -” The raft moved briskly towards the inside of the harbor, and then suddenly Rey found herself in the water, pulled down forcefully by strong limbs on her ankles and arms. Rian took her hand as Padmè pushed them down, towards the airlock of the underwater suite, and she had no choice but to go with him and leave the rest of her very incensed family to deal with the stranger who had dared to interrupt Leia’s funeral in such a vile, shocking publicity stunt.

  


“I want you all to listen to me very carefully,” Ben began. It had taken a few days after the incident at the funeral for everything to settle down, and the woman, Bazine, was locked away in sea-iron prison far below, where the _drakkan_ ’s deep-water palace lie in disuse after Leia and Han’s deaths.

They were gathered at the shoreline, with a dozen or so of their closest friends and advisors, Rey and Ben and their four children, the Ticos and Poe Dameron and their families, Warrl and Kiba, Jykatha and her _shearl_ wife, Kaydel and other villagers they had become close to. Several _drakkan_ lingered in the shallows beyond Ben and their immediate family, people who had served his parents and remained loyal and close advisors now that she was gone. He had not told them why, and though he’d shared his intentions with Rey and the children, she could see the curiosity and concern on the gathered faces, and smiled faintly at the few who seemed to harbor their own guesses as to the nature of Ben’s little conference.

“I am not going to assume my mother’s crown,” he stated firmly, ignoring the faint sounds of surprise around them. As usual, he had several limbs looped around Rey’s body, and how he thought he was being stealthy about it after all these years, she had no idea. “No, no! I said _listen!_ I am abdicating officially tomorrow. Padmè is a brilliant, clever and well-educated young woman, she spent a great deal of time with my mother, and she will serve you all as an excellent queen.”

“Sir, I’m sorry if it’s impolite, but doesn’t the ruler have to… Uhhh…” Milo Wexley flushed suddenly, as if just now realizing how many people were gathered. “You know. Have a mate?”

Anyone else might not have noticed the sudden, swift movement in the water, but Rey was well aware of how _drakkan_ behaved. She was not surprised in the least to see Rian stiffen suddenly and then relax, dropping his hand from his lap to hang casually over the back of the bench he sat on.

_Ben,_ she thought, directing his attention.

_I see it_. He gave the younger male a lopsided smirk, then glanced knowingly at his son before answering.

“I’ve spoken to her about that, and although they’ve asked me not to announce it, I’m relatively certain that won’t be an issue.” Several pairs of eyes darted towards Thrace Tico, who was calmly focused on Ben and studiously ignoring any and all attempts to draw his attention. Ben coughed, regaining the small crowd’s interest as he went on.

“After I abdicate, tradition allows a month-long period of adjustment, as well as several rituals that I’m quite relieved to be free of.” There was some laughter, especially from the older adults, but the young princess only gave a stoic half-smile. “Given that the water festival just happens to fall during this time period, I’m sure you’ll all be well aware of her chosen partner before it’s time to give her the crown.”

“Will you keep teaching at the school?” Kiba wanted to know. The togruta had no children of her own, the pairing between her and Warrl was biologically impossible according the medical droids, but they had adopted almost a dozen of the strays Rey brought back from her travels, many of whom had families of their own at this point.

“No.” He looked over at her, then back to his wife, and his eyes sparkled with that old mischief Rey remembered so well, from before they’d had four children and an estate and a school and a business and… “No, Rey and I are going to… do some traveling, I think. It’s been awhile since I’ve been on a starship, and even longer since we had time to be… just the two of us.”

His voice was more intimate than he’d probably intended, and his eyes had never left hers, bringing out a blush she didn’t know was still possible.

“Aww, look at them,” Rose cooed sweetly. “No wonder Ben doesn’t want to be king. He finally has the chance to travel the galaxy with his sweetheart.”

“I’ll take you to travel the galaxy anytime, sweetheart,” Poe promised eagerly, drawing more laughter from the gathered crowd.

“Hey!” Finn cast them both an injured look, and Poe wrapped an arm around him lazily.

“You, too, babe.”

“Gross,” Thrace muttered, shifting away from his parents and closer to the shoreline. Rey shot him a knowing look, once again catching the movement in the water.

“If anyone has any more questions,” Ben said loudly, giving his daughter another cunning glance, “Mey is right here. I’m getting too old to sit around being pestered with inane bullshit all night.”

Several of the older adults snorted, and the princess’s eyes widened as her father slipped back into the water, ducking down and away before she had a chance to call for him. Rey watched for a moment, as Padmè solemnly spoke to those who questioned her, holding herself with a grace and poise that was so reminiscent of Leia it made her chest ache. She didn’t miss the way Thrace Tico watched her as if hanging on every word, or how he attempted to be subtle about the multiple loops of tentacles around his feet and wrist.

She gathered herself to her leave, sensing Ben down below, and decided she, too, had had enough of other people for the night. Rian smiled at her as she passed him by, and she smirked as she carefully stepped over the length of dark _drakkan_ between him and the water, using his shoulder to steady her.

“Shit,” he mumbled, catching her movement and knowing eyes. “I was gonna tell you -”

“Tell us when you’re ready,” she patted his cheek fondly. “Milo’s always been a sweet boy.”

“He’s thirty-seven, Mom.”

Rey blinked, then shook her head. “Right. Well. He’s a sweet and thoughtful young man, then.”

“I knew you wouldn’t care,” he glanced over her shoulder, and she noted the tentacle shifting on the sand, more loops drawing over her son’s leg, making him blush a bright crimson. “We’re just not sure if Snap will take it alright. Milo’s his only son -”

“Hmm.” She squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. “I think he’ll come around. But you have my support, one-hundred and ten percent, if that means anything.”

“It means a lot. Thank you.”

  


Rey was blinking back tears when she joined Ben in their suite, locking the elevator behind her with the little key they used when they wanted to be alone. It was stiff from disuse, but she managed it.

“What’s wrong? Are you still upset over Bazine -”

“No, no,” she shook her head adamantly. “I just… How did we raise such wonderful children, Ben? I was so worried about Mey when we had Lyra and Keran and… now they’re all just… amazing.”

“I know, I know. I have no idea,” he laughed. “I’m not supposed to tell you, Kaydel swore me to secrecy, but Milo and Ri -”

“I know, I nearly tripped over them when I was coming in. You bloody sea-monsters and your possessive need to grab onto everything. And everyone.” She grinned, and he leaned in to kiss her as he wrapped her in his own possessive, grabby limbs.

“Did you lock the elevator?”

“I did.” The words were barely out of her mouth before he was tearing away her clothing, and Rey shrieked in surprise and feigned outrage. “Ben, for fuck’s sake -”

“Do you even know how long it’s been since I’ve had you to myself like this?”

She tried to remember, but the past year had been so busy, and before that there was the business deal that kept her and Rian on Tatooine for the better part of a year, and before that…

“I… No, I don’t. Too long.”

“You’re damn right.”

  


Han Solo’s ship was so old it was nearly a relic, but Rey had connections, and Chewie had nothing but time. The old wookie had gone into semi-retirement after Han died, moving into one of the bunks at Kiba and Warrl’s, but he wasn’t the type of person to sit idle, and renovating the _Falcon_ was a labor of love. He’d successfully kept it quiet the entire time Rey had been gone, working on the project in secret with parts she’d gathered and hoarded over the years, but he seemed relieved to finally pass it on.

“Holy shit! Is it really…” Ben made his way all around the outside, observing every detail, taking in the new parts and body work, though he knew very little about the hardware of a starship. It looked better than it ever had when his father owned it, and he couldn’t resist wrapping the old wookie in a quick hug. “She looks almost new, Chewie!”

_“She is new, mostly.”_ He banged fondly on the outer wall of the cargo hold, which had been refitted with a massive water tank, along with all the creature comforts of a Mon Calamari ship. _“New engines, new hyperdrive, all new paneling. Brains are still the same, though.”_

“It’s really the computer systems that make a ship individual,” Rey explained. “This one has some… very individual computer systems. I’m not entirely sure they all get along, or if they even like me, sometimes.”

“Sounds like the _Millenium Falcon_ to me,” Ben answered, following her into the cockpit, where the boards and switches had been replaced, but the attached systems were still the same. He lingered in the recessed compartment, custom-designed for a _drakkan_ , where his father had piloted ship with his multitude of limbs. “I don’t really know what all of this does.”

Rey smiled, positioning herself in front of him and encouraging him to arrange himself so she could perch in his lap.

“Comfy?”

“I suppose.”

“Good.” She wiggled a bit, angling herself into the most pleasant but tortuous position, and he hissed in her ear. “Now, pay attention, Solo...”

“You have my… undivided attention.”

Several limbs found their way under her clothes as she pushed the ship out of the atmosphere, and while he was giving her attention, Rey was fairly certain he had no _idea_ how the ship’s controls worked.

“I have to set the astrogation coordinates,” she said, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.

“Alright, and…?"

“I have to concentrate, or…” she bit back a moan as he tore away her underwear, working a single limb teasingly slow inside of her. “Ben! Honestly, do you want to end up zipping through an asteroid at lightspeed?”

He stilled, but didn’t remove himself from inside her, or his hands from around her breasts, and Rey bit her lip, forcing her mind to focus. It was only a single tentacle. She’d had so much more inside of her, you’d think she’d be over it at this point.

The coordinates checked and rechecked, she directed him to engage the switch, unable to reach it from where he held her so deliciously pinned and speared in his grasp. The stars bled into fine lines around them, and Rey relaxed into his hold with a breathy sigh.

“There. Now you can… do whatever you want to do…”

“Oh?” His lips moved beside her ear, and she dug her fingernails into the limb wrapped around her middle, preventing her from wiggling downwards any further, though she was desperate to feel more of him. “What do you want me to do, Rey? Maybe I’ll just relax up here and watch the stars go by -”

“Fuck me, you big, stupid sea-monster!”

“Where?”

“ _Everywhere._ ”


End file.
